21 May 2011

South African photojournalist killed in Libya

6:03 am on 21 May 2011

The family of a South African photojournalist who has been missing in Libya for more than a month, has been told he was killed by Libyan government forces.

Anton Hammerl, 41, has family in New Zealand.

His family in England says he was with two American journalists when he was shot.

The others were held by the Libyan government for six weeks before being released on Wednesday.

Family friend Bronwyn Friedlander said in London that according to the released journalists, Mr Hammerl was left behind while they were taken away by Gaddafi forces.

''His injuries were such that he could not have survived without medical attention,'' she said.

James Foley and Clare Gillis spoke by telephone with Mr Hammerl's wife, Penny Sukhraj, in London late on Thursday.

They said the attack took place on the outskirts of the eastern oil town of Brega on 5 April.

Mr Hammerl was shot in the stomach and abandoned in the desert.

Two other photojournalists, filmmaker Tim Hetherington and Getty photographer Chris Hondros, were killed last month after coming under fire in Misrata.

Mr Hammerl, who had three young children, had lived in Britain for five years. He also had Austrian nationality.

Jenny Cutting, a cousin who lives in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, says the family is struggling to come to terms with the news.