London-based Fox News cameraman dies after 'coming under fire' in car he shared with father-of-three British reporter left seriously wounded from attack near Kyiv
A UK-based cameraman working for Fox News has died in Ukraine while travelling in a vehicle involved in the same attack that left a British journalist seriously injured.
Pierre Zakrzewski, who was based in London, died in the attack in Horenka near Kyiv when the vehicle he was travelling in yesterday was hit by incoming fire.Also alongside him was Fox reporter Benjamin Hall, 39, a married father-of-three from London, who was hit in both legs by shrapnel and remains in hospital tonight.
Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott told staff in a memo today that Mr Zakrzewski covered 'nearly every international story' for the US network from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria, and praised his 'bravery, professionalism and work ethic'.
She added that his 'passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched', and he worked as a photographer, engineer, editor and producer while out in the field.
Ms Scott also said that Mr Zakrzewski - whom Fox said was based in London, although his nationality was not given - played a key role in getting Fox's Afghan freelance associates and their families out of the country after the US withdrawal.
Mr Zakrzewski was awarded the 'Unsung Hero' prize at Fox's annual employee Spotlight Awards last December 'in recognition of his invaluable work', she added.
Fox cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski (left) has died and reporter Benjamin Hall seriously injured
Pierre Zakrzewski (left) and Benjamin Hall (right) worked together in Kabul for Fox last year
Fox cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was based in London, died in the attack in Horenka
Pierre Zakrzewski (left) with colleagues Steve Harrigan, Yonat Frilling and Ibrahim Hazboun
Fox foreign correspondent Trey Yingst (left) posted a tribute photo to Pierre Zakrzewski (right)
Meanwhile Mr Hall, who has worked for the New York-based network since 2015 and has a wife and three daughters in London, was today being treated in intensive care.
Ms Scott said in an earlier memo that bosses have a 'minimal level of details' and teams on the ground were working to find out more on what happened to Mr Hall.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told another Fox reporter in Washington DC yesterday that 'our thoughts, the president's thoughts, our administration's thoughts are with him (Mr Hall), his family and all of you at Fox News.'
Mr Hall is a Washington-based correspondent and an experienced foreign reporter who has previously worked in the likes of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Gaza.
Irina Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said in a Facebook post that a British journalist had received shrapnel wounds to both legs and was in intensive care.
She did not identify the journalist but posted a picture of a US congressional press pass belonging to a Fox News reporter. Ms Venediktova added that the reporter was in intensive care and was not near a military facility at the time of the blast.
Benjamin Hall, 39, has been reporting for Fox News from Ukraine on the Russian invasion
Mr Hall has three daughters with his wife Alicia Meller, an Australian fashion businesswoman
Benjamin Hall is a married father-of-three from London who has worked for Fox since 2015Mr Hall covers the US State Department for Fox News and attended the £38,000-a-year Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire before studying at Duke University in North Carolina, Richmond University in London and University of the Arts London.
He is a dual citizen of Britain and the US, and wrote a book in 2015 about the history of Islamic State called 'Inside ISIS: The Brutal Rise of a Terrorist Army'.
The journalist has also worked for the BBC, ITN and Channel 4 and written for The Times, The Sunday Times, The New York Times and Agence France Presse.
Mr Hall has three young daughters with his wife Alicia Meller, an Australian fashion businesswoman whom he married in 2015. Other staff from Fox News remain in Ukraine to report on the war which began on February 24.
Ms Scott told Fox News staff in an email yesterday: 'Our correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured while newsgathering outside of Kyiv in Ukraine.
'We have a minimal level of details right now, but Ben is hospitalized and our teams on the ground are working to gather additional information as the situation quickly unfolds.
'The safety of our entire our entire team of journalists in Ukraine and the surrounding regions is our top priority and of the utmost importance.
'This is a stark reminder for all journalists who are putting their lives on the line every day to deliver the news from a war zone. We will update everyone as we know more. Please keep Ben and his family in your prayers.'
The State Department Correspondents' Association said in a statement that it was 'horrified to learn that our fellow correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured as he covered the Ukraine war.'
'We know Ben for his warmth, good humour and utmost professionalism,' it said. 'We wish Ben a quick recovery and call for utmost efforts to protect journalists who are providing an invaluable service through their coverage in Ukraine.'
Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby also confirmed yesterday in a briefing that Mr Hall had been injured in Ukraine and was being treated at a hospital.
Mr Hall covers the US State Department for Fox News and is normally based in Washington DC
Benjamin Hall in intensive care and was not near a military facility at the time of the blast
Irina Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, did not identify the journalist but posted a picture of a US congressional press pass belonging to a Fox News reporter
It comes after former New York Times journalist Brent Renaud was shot dead by Russian troops on Sunday. Mr Renaud became the first foreign journalist to be killed in the war after he was hit in the neck in Irpin, near Kyiv.
Ex-New York Times journalist Brent Renaud was shot dead by Russian troops on Sunday
The award-winning filmmaker had been covering the plight of refugees escaping the suburb, which has come under intense shelling in recent days.
US photographer Juan Arredondo was also shot in the lower back during the attack on the car carrying him and Mr Renaud. A Ukrainian who had been in the same car as the Americans was also wounded, according to a medic at the scene.
Mr Renaud was an experienced filmmaker who usually worked with his brother Craig in conflict zones around the world, including on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and cartel violence in Mexico.
According to their website, they were based in New York and Little Rock, Arkansas. It is not known whether Craig had also travelled to Ukraine.
Mr Renaud won a Peabody award in 2015 for a Vice News documentary about a school in Chicago and had worked for a number of other US media organisations, including HBO and NBC.
Other staff from Fox News remain in Ukraine to report on the war which began on February 24
Rescuers work next to a residential building damaged by shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, this morning
He was in Ukraine working on a ‘global film project about refugees’, according to former colleagues.
The New York Times said it was ‘deeply saddened’ to learn the ‘talented filmmaker’ had been killed - though added that he had not been on assignment for the paper.
Early reports suggested he had been working for the publication because he was wearing a press badge with its name on. A spokesman said the document had been issued ‘many years ago’.
The death of Mr Renaud came just over a week after Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay was shot and wounded after coming under fire while driving back to Kyiv.
A few days earlier a Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Skaum, a camera operator, was killed when a TV transmission tower in Kviv was hit by shelling.
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