Tragedy strikes photographers in Libya

As many readers are no doubt already aware, one of the world’s pre-eminent war photographers was killed today and two others are reportedly in grave condition after they were struck by a rocket-propelled grenade near Misrata, Libya. There are conflicting reports floating around, but according to the most recent dispatch by C.J. Chivers of the ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
Chris Hondros/Getty Images

As many readers are no doubt already aware, one of the world's pre-eminent war photographers was killed today and two others are reportedly in grave condition after they were struck by a rocket-propelled grenade near Misrata, Libya.

As many readers are no doubt already aware, one of the world’s pre-eminent war photographers was killed today and two others are reportedly in grave condition after they were struck by a rocket-propelled grenade near Misrata, Libya.

There are conflicting reports floating around, but according to the most recent dispatch by C.J. Chivers of the New York Times, photographer and filmmaker Tim Hetherington was killed, Chris Hondros of Getty Images suffered a severe brain injury, and Guy Martin of the Panos photo agency is undergoing vascular surgery. 

Hetherington is best known as director of the brilliant, Academy Award-nominated Afghan war documentary Restrepo. He worked for years as a photojournalist in West Africa and also handled the camerawork for the acclaimed films Liberia: An Uncivil War and The Devil Came on Horseback

Martin has vivdly documented both combat and daily life from South Sudan to Georgia to Ramallah. You can view his work on his personal website

Whether or not they know his name, FP readers are already well acquainted with Hondros’s work. (The photo above is his most recent from Libya — filed just this morning.) From 9/11 in New York City to Iraq to Afghanistan to Tahrir Square, if there was major news breaking somewhere in the world, there’s a good chance he was there documenting it. A longtime friend of FP, Hondros photographed and wrote captions for this gripping photo essay from post-earthquake Haiti last year.

Hondros’s often unsettling images bring the human costs of war home to readers. As he said of his time in Iraq, "All I’ll be able to say is that I went and covered what was in front of me, and did what I could to help people understand what was happening — even when I didn’t really understand it myself."

We’ll have more updates when more information becomes available. But for now, our thoughts are with the friends and families of all three. 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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