Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter got medical attention for dehydration while visiting Winnipeg, reports on Thursday said.
He collapsed while helping build a Habitat for Humanity home in the Canadian city, the CBC reported.
A volunteer with Habitat for Humanity said that he saw Carter, 92, collapse after he was working in the sun for an hour. His Secret Service bodyguards rushed over and carried him to a vehicle that was nearby. Then, firefighters and EMS workers arrived and placed him in an ambulance.
He was then taken to the hospital as a precaution.
“He’s asked us to continue with our day,” said Jonathan Reckford, the CEO for Habitat for Humanity International, in a statement. “He encourages everyone to stay hydrated and keep building.”
Habitat for Humanity, an organization Carter has long supported, released a statement on his condition, saying that “President Carter told us he is okay and being taken offsite for observation.”
According to a joint statement from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and The Carter Centre, “He was transported to St. Boniface General Hospital for rehydration. Mrs. Carter is with him,” reported the Winnipeg Free Press.
Carter, who exited the presidency in 1981 after losing to Ronald Reagan, has been spotted framing houses around the United States for the past 35 years.
