DiCaprio flown to S Africa for treatment

Leonardo DiCaprio

JOHANNESBURG - Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio was flown from location in Mozambique to neighbouring South Africa for medical treatment, a hospital official has said.

A Johannesburg newspaper said he had been injured while filming his latest movie The Blood Diamond but the hospital official could only say he had X-ray scans.

The official said the Oscar-winning star of "Titanic" had arrived on Friday at the hospital in Nelspruit, near the Kruger National Park.

"He walked into the hospital grounds surrounded by bodyguards," said Robyn Baard, spokeswoman for the Nelspruit Medi-Clinic.

He consulted a doctor for about two hours and then left, presumably for the flight back to Mozambique, Baard said.

Johannesburg's Citizen newspaper said DiCaprio, 31, had been injured during filming but gave no details.

"Nothing was ever released about the nature of consultation. He was never a hospital patient really, so in terms of doctor-patient confidentiality we were not told what the consultation was about," Baard said.

The Blood Diamond, due for release later this year and directed by Edward Zwick, is set amid the chaos of civil war. It is centred around two men who find a rare gem that can change their lives of dramatically opposite backgrounds.

Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, is transforming its economy after emerging from nearly two decades of devastating civil war in 1992, but remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

Security has been tight around DiCaprio during the filming, with photographers and journalists kept away from the location.

- REUTERS