Two Journalists killed while covering US storm

Two journalists were killed in a "freak of nature" accident while covering weather conditions in North Carolina during storm Alberto.

Mike McCormick and Aaron Smeltzer, from news outlet WYFF, died when a falling tree crushed their car as they drove down a highway.

Fire chief Geoff Tennant had recorded an interview with the pair minutes before he received the emergency call.

He said they had each exchanged wishes to stay safe just 10 minutes earlier.

Mr McCormick was a reporter and anchor, and Mr Smeltzer was a photojournalist. Both were on assignment covering the extreme weather.

The tree, Mr Tennant said, "probably fell in excess of 30 feet".

While the deaths of the two journalists are not being directly attributed to the storm itself, the heavy rainfall had waterlogged the soil, probably contributing to the tree's fall.

"It is one of those things you know is going to happen, or you can predict it may happen - you don't know when," Mr Tennant said.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS
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