A news correspondent has revealed how he ‘lost half a leg’ and one of his feet in a blast in Kyiv, Ukraine, more than three weeks ago, and also paid tribute to his two colleagues who sadly ‘didn’t make it’ that day.
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, 39, had been reporting outside Kyiv with 55-year-old cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and producer Oleksandra 'Sasha' Kurshynova, 24, when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a bomb blast.
Sharing a post on Twitter to explain the extent of his injuries, Hall – who is British but lives in Washington DC – said he feels ‘pretty damn lucky’ to be alive.
An accompanying photo from the aftermath showed him lying in a hospital bed, wearing an eye patch as one of his eyes is ‘no longer working’.
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In the since-deleted tweet, he wrote: “To sum it up, I’ve lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other. One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown... but all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here – and it is the people who got me here who are amazing!”
Hall also tweeted to pay tribute to his co-workers who weren’t so fortunate that day, writing: “It’s been over three weeks since the attack in Ukraine and I wanted to start sharing it all. But first I need to pay tribute to my colleagues Pierre and Sasha who didn't make it that day. Pierre and I traveled the world together, working was his joy and his joy was infectious. RIP.”
That post has also since been removed.
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Last month, Fox News confirmed the tragic deaths of Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova, explaining how their vehicle was struck by incoming fire in Horenka, outside Kyiv. Kuvshynova was serving as a consultant for Fox News on the ground at the time.
Honouring the network's 'beloved cameraman' Zakrzewski, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement: "Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for FOX News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us. His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched. Based in London, Pierre had been working in Ukraine since February.
"His talents were vast and there wasn’t a role that he didn’t jump in to help with in the field — from photographer to engineer to editor to producer — and he did it all under immense pressure with tremendous skill.
"He was profoundly committed to telling the story and his bravery, professionalism and work ethic were renowned among journalists at every media outlet. He was wildly popular – everyone in the media industry who has covered a foreign story knew and respected Pierre."
Topics: Ukraine
Jess Hardiman