Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall has paid tribute to his former colleague, Irish cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski who was killed beside him in Ukraine last month.
Mr Hall, in his first public comments since the attack, remembered Mr Zakrzewski and fellow journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova who also lost her life when their vehicle was shot at by Russian forces just outside Kyiv.
“It’s been over three weeks since the attack in Ukraine and I wanted to start sharing it all,” he posted in a tweet which has since been deleted.
“But first I need to pay tribute to my colleagues Pierre and Sasha who didn’t make it that day. Pierre and I travelled the world together, working was his joy and his joy was infectious. RIP.”
Mr Hall survived but suffered serious injuries. In his post, he described how badly hurt he was in the attack.
“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.”
Mr Zakrzewski (55) was buried in Dublin last month. At a funeral service in Foxrock, Dublin he was remembered as a man with a passion for travel and adventure.
“It was here that his interest in photography and politics started to dovetail into freelance journalism,” his brother Stas said in his eulogy. “He has taught us to think outside the boundaries and that nothing is impossible.”
During his career, the veteran war-zone photographer covered numerous conflicts for Fox News, including in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. He had been in Ukraine since February.
