Sports announcer suffers scary medical emergency live on air and is rushed to hospital

A sports announcer suffered a scary medical emergency live on air and was immediately rushed to hospital.

Bob Rathbun appeared to collapse in his chair live on-air as the cameras panned away when something looked noticeably wrong.

The 68-year-old Hawks announcer was previewing the game between Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder alongside Dominique Wilkins.

Suddenly, Rathbun appeared to loose consciousness in his chair while Wilkins continued to chat about the game.

Video below contains distressing images:

Bally Sports Southeast later confirmed that the announcer was suffering from 'dehydration' and is in a 'stable' condition.

"Prior to tonight's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun briefly lost consciousness on the court," the statement read.

"Emergency medical professionals on-site quickly treated Rathbun for dehydration.

"He is stable, responsive and heading to Emory Midtown for further evaluation."

Fans have been sending their best wishes to the announcer, with one person tweeting: "Glad Bob’s doing better hoping for a speedy recovery."

"Prayers up for the GOAT. We love you @BobRathbunTV," another added.

Someone else said: "Prayers to Bob and his family and the @ATLHawks."

Fellow Sportscaster Kelly Crull says she 'just heard from our friend Bob' and assures followers that he is 'feeling much better'.

She tweeted: "GREAT news everyone…just heard from our friend Bob Rathbun who assured me he is feeling much better, just physically exhausted. He’s hoping to be released from the hospital shortly & then he’ll be home resting.

"Keep those prayers coming & let’s get Bob back on his feet asap."

"Thank you for letting us know. He is wonderful and has a large fan base. Looking forward seeing him at the game soon," one person commentated.

A second added: "Thanks, Kelly a great announcer and biggest Hawk fan there is."

"Wonderful news. Thanks for sharing," another person wrote.

As we know, it's important to stay hydrated and drink plenty of water, as explained by Jo Travers, a nutritionist in London.

She told inews: "Water does a lot of jobs in the body. Temperature regulation, for example, and moving stuff like water-soluble vitamins around the body. Water improves our blood volume: if you are dehydrated, that makes blood thicker, stickier and harder to pump around the body, which means that cells don’t get as much oxygen. Dehydration can lead to fatigue, brain fog, all of these kinds of things."