Tributes paid to Briton killed covering Libya siege fighting

Tim Hetherington, an Oscar-nominated film-maker and conflict photographer, was capturing images of fighting between Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces and Libyan rebels when he was reportedly hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

His American colleague Chris Hondros, 41, was also killed in the attack.

Liverpool-born Mr Hetherington, 41, who worked for Getty Images and lived in New York, had covered conflict zones since the late 1990s.

A number of other journalists, including British photographer Guy Martin, were injured when they were hit by shrapnel.

Mr Martin, 27, a part-time university lecturer from Cornwall, is being treated at a hospital in Misrata, where he was in a critical but stable condition last night.

In a statement issued through the magazine Vanity Fair, Mr Hetherington’s family said he would be remembered for his “amazing images” and his Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo.

“Tim was in Libya to continue his ongoing multimedia project to highlight humanitarian issues during time of war and conflict. He will be forever missed,” they added.

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter said Mr Hetherington was “about as perfect a model of a war photographer as you’re going to find these days”.

“He was a rangy, charming workhorse of a photographer,” he added. “Devilishly good-looking and impossibly brave, he was both a ladies’ man and a man’s man. There were few like Tim and there will be fewer like him.”

Mr Hetherington, who had dual British and American nationality, was best known for his work in Afghanistan and won the prestigious World Press Photo of the Year Award in 2007. His work there led to his creation of the 2010 Oscar-nominated documentary.

Mr Martin had undergone “intense surgery” his family said in a statement, which added: “Human Rights Watch, the FCO and many media colleagues and medical staff on the ground in Misrata are helping us in getting Guy out of Libya as soon as possible to receive the medical help he needs. However, his current condition has prevented his evacuation.

“We want to thank everyone for their support, especially the medical team in Misrata that has done an incredible job.”

The bodies of the two photographers were carried from Misrata on a ferry with more than 1,000 evacuees including Libyan civilians and migrant workers as well as scores of injured on board.

The number of people trying to flee Misrata has surged as Libyan forces expand their shelling to areas once considered relatively safe havens.

“Our neighbourhood became a war zone so we had to get out,” said Faiza Stayta, who made it aboard with her husband and two children.

“All the firing is random. You hear a rocket and how have no idea if it will come down on your house.”

The United States cautiously endorsed claims by rebels and human rights groups that Col Gaddafi’s forces were targeting civilians with cluster bombs in Misrata.

British defence officials said Nato was focusing its air effort on Misrata, given the “grievous situation”. Several targets threatening civilians had been attacked.

A Libyan rebel leader yesterday claimed opposition forces had taken control of a post on the Tunisian border. The reported capture of the Dhuheiba border crossing could open channels to the nearby desert town of Nalut, about 140 miles south-west of the capital, Tripoli.