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LONDON — BSkyB‘s news network Sky News on Wednesday said that one of its cameraman was shot and killed while covering the latest eruption of violence in Cairo, Egypt.
Mick Deane, 61, was part of the Sky News team reporting on the situation with Middle East correspondent Sam Kiley when he was shot and wounded, the network said. “Despite receiving medical treatment for his injuries, he died shortly afterwards,” Sky News said in a statement.
Further details weren’t immediately available.
The channel described the cameraman as “a hugely experienced broadcast journalist” who had worked with Sky News for 15 years. He was previously stationed in Washington, D.C. He was married with two sons.
“Everyone at Sky News is shocked and saddened by Mick’s death,” said Sky News head John Ryley. “He was a talented and experienced journalist who had worked with Sky News for many years. The loss of a much-loved colleague will be deeply felt across Sky News. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family. We will give them our full support at this extremely difficult time.”
British prime minister David Cameron tweeted: “I am saddened to hear of the death of cameraman Mick Deane, covering Egyptian violence. My thoughts are with his family and @skynews team.”
According to news report, Egyptian security forces on Wednesday launched an assault on protesters in Cairo who are supporting recently ousted president Mohamed Morsi. The crackdown by the military-led government also caused clashes in other regions of the country.
Rupert Murdoch‘s 21st Century Fox owns a 39 percent stake in U.K. pay TV giant BSkyB.
“We’re aware of the tragic death of Sky News cameraman Mick Deane, and our thoughts are with his family and colleagues,” BBC News said in a statement. “Journalists everywhere face enormous risks when reporting from conflicts and in dangerous environments, and we are indebted to them for their bravery. As with all news organizations, the safety of our staff is the number one priority, and we are keeping the situation under careful review.”
ITN, which provides news for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, also reacted to the news. “The safety of our journalists is always our first priority and we are monitoring the situation throughout Egypt extremely closely following the sad news about Mick Deane,” a representative said. “We are only deploying very experienced teams to cover events in the country and are in constant contact with them.”
E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
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