NEW YORK -- Dramatic pictures inside Spain's parliament at the height of the coup attempt were taken by photographers of the Spanish news agency EFE, smuggled out and made available to UPI which transmitted them around the world.
EFE photographers Manuel Hernandez and Manuel Barriopedro, were among several cameramen in the chambers when right wing civil guard troops armed with pistols and automatic weapons burst in and announced a coup.
Hernandez and Barriopedro made a number of pictures of the incident before all photographers were ordered to stop taking pictures give up their exposed film before leaving the chamber.
F.W. Lyon, UPI vice president for Newspictures, who happened to be in Madrid on business at the time, said Hernandez and Barriopedro managed to smuggle out two rolls of film, one of them hidden in a boot and the other in underwear.
The 13 pictures, shared with UPI and other news agencies, included a shot of Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero de Molina, leader of the attempted takeover, standing at the podium brandishing a pistol and his hand raised.
Another series of photographs shows former Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez going to the aid of First Vice President Gen. Manuel Gutierrez Mellado, who had been pushed to the floor by the rebels.
Lyon said foreign journalists were barrred from Parliament during the vote on the new prime minister, when the Civil Guards stormed the building. Lyon said no television film of the incident reached the outside world.
