Media reports said Richards fell out of a palm tree and remained hospitalized in Auckland.

Richards, 62, suffered a mild concussion while on holiday in Fiji earlier this week and was flown to New Zealand, band spokeswoman Fran Curtis said in a statement.

"Following treatment locally and as a precautionary measure, he flew to a hospital accompanied by his wife, Patti, for observation," Curtis said.

The statement did not elaborate on Richards' condition.

But media reports in Australian and New Zealand said Richards hurt his head after falling out of a palm tree at an exclusive Fiji resort and remained hospitalized in Auckland.

Newspapers in the Fairfax media group reported in their Sunday editions that Richards was flown to Auckland's Ascot Hospital on Thursday after the accident.

Steve Kirby, duty manager at the Ascot Hospital, would not comment on whether Richards was a patient there, citing the hospital's privacy policy.

The Fijilive.com news Web site reported that the accident was believed to have happened at Fiji's exclusive Wakaya Club resort.

Salesi Finau of the resort told The Associated Press that Richards and his wife recently stayed at the resort for about a week but would not say when they left.

Finau also refused to comment on the reports Richards had an accident.

"I am sorry, I do not have any comment on that," he said.

The Rolling Stones played a concert in Wellington on April 18 as part of their "A Bigger Bang" world tour.

According to the band's Web site, the Stones' next scheduled concert is at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, followed by 34 more dates across Europe.

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On the Net:

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