A German TV reporter was fired after she was caught smearing herself in mud before filming a report in a flood devastated town this week.
Susanna Ohlen, 39, muddied herself to pretend she had lent a hand with the clean up effort in Bad Munstereifel following heavy flooding that claimed at least 128 lives in Germany.
RTL.de had published an article titled ‘Cleaning up after the flood: RTL presenter lends a hand in Bad Munstereifel’, which featured Ohlen.
She was caught out after an onlooker posted the incriminating video online on Thursday.
The channel said: ‘Our reporter’s approach clearly contradicts journalistic principles and our own standards. We therefore gave her a leave of absence on Monday after we heard about it.’
RTL presenter Susanna Ohlen was fired after she was caught smearing herself in mud before filming a report in a flood devastated town this week
usanna Ohlen was caught smearing herself in mud before filming a report in the flood devastated town of Bad Munstereifel this week
Susanna Ohlen, 39, muddied herself to pretend she had lent a hand with the clean up effort in Bad Munstereifel following heavy flooding that claimed at least 128 lives in Germany
Footage appears to show Ohlen in a blue shirt, hat, and boots, bend down, pick up some mud, and smear it on her clothes while surrounded by flood damaged houses and debris.
She then bends down a second time, this time wiping the mud on her face.
The onlooker can be heard laughing in the background as she then turns back to face her camera crew.
Ohlen had worked at RTL since 2008 and presented Good Evening RTL, Good Morning Germany, and Point 12, among others.
Ohlen had worked at RTL since 2008 and presented Good Evening RTL, Good Morning Germany, and Point 12, among others
Footage appears to show Ohlen in a blue shirt, hat, and boots, bend down, pick up some mud, and smear it on her clothes while surrounded by flood damaged houses and debris
Ohlen then appears to bend down a second time, this time wiping the mud on her face, before turning back to camera to film the segment
It comes after Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and France were hit by days heavy rainfall and fooding last week.
The floods have now claimed at least 196 lives across worst-hit Germany and Belgium and are expected to leave billions of euros worth of damages.
In the Ahrweiler area of western Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate state, the number of recorded deaths has surpassed 110 and police fear that figure may still rise.
In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, 46 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters, while Belgium has confirmed 31 casualties.
Desperate relatives released images of missing loved ones over the weekend as floodwaters receded and the hope of finding survivors faded.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Belgian King Phillippe and Queen Mathilde have all visited the disaster zone.
Residents in Ahrweiler, western Germany, start the clean up after heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the region
Residents survey the damage caused by days of heavy rainfall and flooding in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday
Wrecked cars and trucks are flooded on the B265 federal highway in Erftstadt, Germany
A view of destroyed houses in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany, which were destroyed after the ground beneath them collapsed into a nearby gravel pit
Workers clear a destroyed street after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler
A resident trudges through the disaster left by flash flooding in the German zone of Bad Muenstereifel on Sunday morning