Sebastian Junger, left, and Tim Hetherington at Army Outpost Restrepo in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. (Outpost Films / September 10, 2007)
Reporting from Misurata, Libya—
Tim Hetherington, an award-winning news photographer and co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Restrepo," was killed Wednesday in an explosion in the Libyan city of Misurata, doctors and colleagues reported.
At least three other photojournalists were injured in the blast, which was believed to have been caused by a mortar round. The rebel-held city in western Libya has been under attack for several weeks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi.
The wounded journalists included Chris Hondros of Getty Images, Michael Brown of the Corbis agency and Guy Martin of Panos Pictures. Hondros, whose work appeared on the front page of Wednesday's edition of the Los Angeles Times, was in critical condition with a head wound and in a coma.
Doctors at Misurata's Hikma Hospital said that seven rebel fighters and a Ukrainian doctor also were killed Wednesday in shellings.
Most of Misurata is in rebel hands, though it is ringed by Kadafi's forces, which have superior firepower. The journalists had been working near the front lines with a local militiaman in an area contested by snipers and other fighters loyal to Kadafi. The journalists apparently were returning on foot to more secure territory when they were hit by the fire.
Photos: Images by Hetherington and Hondros
"We were trying to get to a safe place. It was too quiet. It felt dangerous," said Guillermo Cervera, a freelance photojournalist who was a few yards away at the time of the blast. "I heard the whoosh of an explosion, and everybody was on the ground."
Rebels pulled up in vehicles and took the photographers to Hikma Hospital, Cervera said. Mohammed Zawwam, a local journalist, said Hetherington had talked of wanting to help Misurata's people and of doing a video project on the conflict.
"He was just a good guy, an amazing guy to me," Zawwam said.
Hetherington was born in Liverpool, England, and studied literature at Oxford University, according to his website biography. His documentary, "Restrepo," about a platoon of soldiers serving in Afghanistan, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival last year.
ned.parker@latimes.com
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