John Kerry's wife in 'critical condition' in hospital

The wife of US Secretary of State John Kerry has been taken to hospital in Boston where she is reported to be in a critical condition, BBC reported.

Teresa Heinz Kerry, 74, became ill during a family holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Sunday.

Her condition was stabilised at the local hospital before she was transferred to a hospital in Boston, Mr Kerry's spokesman said.

Mr Kerry is reported to have travelled with his wife to Boston.

"The family is grateful for the outpouring of support it has received and aware of the interest in her condition, but they ask for privacy at this time," Mr Kerry's spokesman Glen Johnson said.

Born to a Portuguese family in Mozambique, Teresa Heinz Kerry is a former UN interpreter and widow of Senator John Heinz, heir to the ketchup company fortune, who died in 1991.

She married Mr Kerry in 1995. It was a second marriage for both of them.

Ms Heinz Kerry revealed in 2009 that she had been treated for breast cancer.