Photographer snaps last moments of man hit by train, New York Post leads on story

 

Wednesday 05 December 2012 05:10 EST
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New York's subway system gets back to work yesterday
New York's subway system gets back to work yesterday (Getty Images)

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The New York Post faced criticism yesterday after it splashed on the front page with a picture taken of a man moments before he was hit by a subway train, having been pushed by an unidentified assailant.

R. Umar Abbasi, the photographer, said he took out his camera and snapped in an attempt to alert the driver with his flash. Tragically, the driver couldn't stop in time and the victim, Ki Suk Han, was crushed by the oncoming train.

The Post led with the headline "Doomed" and featured one of Abassi's images below.

Gawker asked professional journalists and photographers what they thought of the editors' decision:

Vincent Laforet, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography, said: "In a situation like this which develops in the blink of an eye—it would appear that Mr. Abbasi did the only thing he could—use his flash to get the operator's attention. "

John Kaplan, another Pulitzer winner, added: "The blame in this controversy lies directly with the New York Post for pulbishing such a callous, crude and truly tasteless headline".

Was it right for Abbasi to take the photo?

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