British-born journalist killed in Libya, foreign office confirms

A British-born journalist has been killed in Libya while reporting on the conflict within the country.

Tim Hetherington, a photographer who is understood to have lived in the US, was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in Misrata Vanity Fair reported today, a title which Hetherington reportedly contributed to.

The Foreign Office confirmed his death, adding it is providing consular support to his family. Vanity Fair has published what it claims to be a statement from the Hetherington family.

Hetherington, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated documentary on Afghanistan Restrepo, is understood to be the first British journalist to have been killed since the uprisings began in the country earlier this year.

Following news of Hetherington's death it was widely reported that three other journalists were injured in the attack. It was later reported that one of them, US photographer Chris Hondros, died late on Wednesday.

As well as contributing to Vanity Fair, Hetherington was also known to work as a photographer for Panos Pictures which paid tribute to him on its website.

Paying tribute to Hetherington Human Rights Watch in Libya, which claims to have worked with the journalist on a number of stories, said he was "a brilliant photographer and videographer who covered many of the world's most critical human rights stories".

"In every assignment, he demonstrated a remarkable sensitivity to his subjects, a tender insight into their human ordeals, and a keen sense of how visual imagery could be used to effect positive social change."

In his most recent entry on Twitter from yesterday Hetherington said in was in the Libyan city of Misrata where there was "indiscriminate shelling" taking place.

Update: Late on Wednesday night Getty Images reported that one of the three injured photographers, Chris Hondros, a staff photographer with the photo agency, also died from his injuries.

"Chris never shied away from the front line and his work in Libya was no exception," Jonathan Klein, Getty Images co-founder and CEO said in a blog post.

"He was one of the first photojournalists to join Getty Images when we set up our news business, becoming a staff photographer in 2001, and there is little doubt that he deserves much of the credit for all that we have achieved in this area."

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