CNN reporter shoved away by grieving relatives while reporting live outside of Tianjin hospital
A CNN reporter was manhandled and pushed away by grief-stricken family members while reporting live this morning from outside a Tianjin hospital where victims of last night's massive explosion are being treated.
According to the latest reports from Chinese media, 520 people have been hospitalized due to injuries resulting from the blast with 66 people in serious condition. The death total currently stands at 44 people including 12 firefighters.
The CNN correspondent, Will Ripley, was speaking into his camera outside a local hospital when he was confronted by several angry men who demanded that he end his broadcast and delete the footage. Some are heard shouting "Stop the foreigners from reporting!" Ripley is seen saying "OK" multiple times before the live feed is cut off.
Back in the studio, the CNN anchor commented that this kind of thing happens all the time in China: "This is something that has happened many times over the years in any number of stories in China."
CNN has since issued a correction tweeting that it had been grieving family members and not security personnel that had swarmed and stopped the live broadcast.
News and information coming out of Tianjin is being extremely controlled and moderated with Weibo users complaining that their posts about the blast are being deleted. Earlier in the morning, viewers were outraged to tune into Tianjin Television and find them broadcasting Korean soap operas rather than coverage of the explosion.
CNN reporter shoved away by grieving relatives while reporting live outside of Tianjin hospital: Shanghaiist