It is a chilling moment when a Sky News film crew came under heavy Russian artillery fire while trying to cross a bridge that was used by civilians, medics and rescuers in Ukraine.
Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, 59, and her team rush for cover amid screams, screams and the sound of piercing arrows caused by artillery fire as they attempt to cross the Desna River.
Dramatic handheld camera footage shows the moment the crew is told to “go down”, diving to the ground as a cold-blooded Crawford tries to end the recording by reporting a surprise attack.
But as she describes the scene, she is interrupted by screams from a nearby civilian frantically warning of further incoming fire, forcing the Sky News crew to their feet and into the car so they can run.
The incident comes just weeks after Sky’s chief foreign correspondent Stuart Ramsay and cameraman Richie Mauclair were hit by bullets when Russian operatives ambushed a car carrying their film crew towards Kyiv.
The shocking video showed the moment when bullets hit the car and the crew screamed as the windshield shattered around them as the car was hit by gunshots, before the group yells “Stop, we’re just journalists!”
Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, 59, and her team rush for cover amid screams, screams and the sound of piercing arrows caused by gunfire as they attempted to cross the Desna River near Chernihiv.
Dramatic handheld camera footage shows the crew diving to the ground as Crawford (above) keeps his cool and tries to end the footage by reporting a surprise attack.
They return to the car and try to run as one of the people in the car warns that the shelling is only 100 meters away.
The crew came under fire from Russian artillery on the way to the last remaining footbridge across the Desna, which was crossed by doctors, volunteers and local residents.
Although explosions are still heard all around, Crawford calls for calm as one of her colleagues mentions that the shelling is taking place about 100 meters away from her.
Recalling the incident for Sky News, Crawford writes: “Suddenly, a barrage of rockets hit the area and everyone crashed to the ground.
“A frenzied panic then ensued as dozens of vehicles hurriedly turned around and tried to make their way through the trees and back into the open field.
“The Russians had already struck the footbridge, but as civilians and emergency vehicles accelerated, the strikes followed.
“Not content with destroying the only way out of the besieged city, the Russian military wanted to inflict as many deaths and injuries on those who tried to escape.”
Chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, pictured with a cut on his face after escaping from an ambush, was shot three weeks ago in the lower back while driving with his team towards Kyiv.
The horrifying footage shows bullets hitting the crew’s car and the crew screaming as glass shatters around them. Pictured: Producer Dominic Van Heerden running for cover
The danger faced by journalists covering the war in Ukraine was shockingly exposed last night when Sky News released heartbreaking footage of their team coming under fire.
Volunteers and rescuers tried to get people across the bridge over the Desna River, which connects Chernihiv with the main road leading to the capital Kyiv.
But the Russian troops, having surrounded the area from three sides and destroyed the main bridge from the city, set their sights on the last pedestrian crossing over the Desna River.
Rows of terrified locals, led by detachments of volunteers, march in the other direction, shelling continues around them.
Crawford explained: “Volunteer soldiers and rescuers were desperately trying to get people across the last footbridge connecting Chernihiv to the main road leading to the capital Kyiv.
“A stream of cars, ambulances and emergency crews raced through a dusty and swampy farm field to reach the crossing.
“A relief convoy hoping to evacuate civilians was forced to pass through a huge open area where any vehicle movement could be attacked.
“Suddenly, a volley of rockets hit the area, and everyone collapsed to the ground. Then a frenzied panic ensued as dozens of vehicles hurriedly turned around and tried to make their way through the trees and back into the open field.”
The attack on civilians and doctors violates the humanitarian code of the Geneva Conventions, which Russia has signed.
But footage shared by Sky News showed the moment when volunteers, journalists and local residents were the targets of indiscriminate artillery fire.
Later clips posted on the same broadcast show 9M27K cluster bomb casings planted in a farmer’s field just a few miles away, further evidence of potential war crimes.
Volunteers (above) and rescuers tried to get people across the bridge over the Desna River, which connects Chernihiv with the main road leading to the capital Kyiv.
Crawford (pictured right) calls for calm as the film crew tries to escape as rockets fly around them.
Rows of terrified locals, led by detachments of volunteers, march in the other direction, shelling continues around them.
The city of Chernihiv is of strategic importance to both Ukraine and Russia as it lies less than 100 miles north of Kyiv and is under attack from Moscow forces.
Residents describe a hellish picture as the besieged settlement has been cut off from the outside world in recent weeks. Electricity and heating are out, and supplies of food and water are quickly running out.
One city official, Alexander Lomako, said a “humanitarian catastrophe” is already unfolding as Russian forces attack food storage sites. According to him, about 130 thousand people remained in the city, about half of its pre-war population.
It comes just three weeks after Sky News’ Stuart Ramsay was wounded by a Russian “assassin squad” near Kiev.
Ukrainian officials told the film crew that the attack was allegedly carried out by a Russian sabotage reconnaissance unit.
After a tense standoff, the team narrowly escaped for their lives using a concrete wall for cover before finding shelter in a factory block. They were later rescued by the Ukrainian police.
Ramsay, recalling the horrific attack for Sky News, detailed the moment when the eerie silence was pierced by the sound of a small explosion that shook the car.
“Bullets ripped through the car, tracers, bullet flashes, windshield, plastic seats, steering wheel and dashboard disintegrated,” he wrote.
“The first shot shattered the windshield. Then we came under full attack. The steering wheel and dashboard fell apart. I remember wondering if my death would be painful.”
In late February, another Sky News crew was forced to run for cover after they came under mortar fire while broadcasting live from Berdyansk in eastern Ukraine.
The dramatic video shows Sky News correspondent Alex Rossi trying to take cover from mortar fire in Berdyansk on the coast of the Sea of Azov, about 50 miles from the strategic port city of Mariupol.
Taking shelter in a nearby building, he says, “It just shows how quickly things can change here. We filmed outside. [It was] really calm.
“The shells came in this morning. But again everything became quiet, everything seemed very, very normal. We just had to come in here to take cover because there was mortar fire.
Alex Crawford: A “fearless” special correspondent who was abducted, interrogated and fired upon with mortars while reporting from the front lines.
Alex Crawford, 59, Sky News Special Correspondent lives in Turkey and covers major events in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Alex Crawford, 59, is a Sky News Special Correspondent based in Turkey covering major events in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Throughout his 30-year career, Crawford has been arrested, detained, kidnapped, interrogated and subjected to live rounds, tear gas, improvised explosive devices and mortar fire, according to Sky News.
Her previous troubles include reporting from the scene about “ethnic cleansing” in Myanmar, the 2011 battle for the Libyan capital Tripoli, and the 2019 drone strikes during the war in Syria.
Over the course of her illustrious career, five-time Royal Television Society Journalist of the Year Alex Crawford has won multiple Emmys, a BAFTA for her coverage of the Ebola crisis, and an MBE from the Queen for her contribution to journalism.
Crawford traveled the world during her formative years, spending time in Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe before graduating from Cobham Hall School in Kent.
She is married to former racing and sports journalist Richard Edmonson and has four children.
Evidence of “ethnic cleansing” in Myanmar
Crawford was the first correspondent to independently obtain “first-hand evidence” of alleged “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya ethnic group.
A broadcaster has filmed the first independent testimony from Myanmar’s Rakhine state revealing the plight of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have been washed up on beaches and left to die.
Crawford reporting live from the scene in Tripoli, Libya in 2011.
Live broadcast of the Battle of Tripoli, Libya
In 2011, Crawford was praised for her live coverage in the Libyan capital when she and her crew filmed live from the back of a pickup truck as rebel convoys entered Tripoli at night.
Dressed only in body armor and a helmet, Crawford boldly demonstrated live footage from the streets of the capital, despite the fact that bullets rained down around her.
Military drone attack in Syria
The horrific reality for war correspondents came to light in 2019 when Crawford and her team came under direct fire from a Syrian military drone while reporting from Idlib Province, Syria.
A drone strike, in flagrant violation of international law, forced a small group to flee and take cover as the rebel-held settlement began shelling.
Dramatic footage filmed at the time showed Crawford and his team being the targets of indiscriminate bombing and shelling by Syrian forces.