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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Colleagues Mourn Cameraman

New York Times

Melih Uzunyol, the Turkish television cameraman who died in the Atlanta bombing Saturday was at the peak of his profession in his own country as the chief cameraman of the state-owned Turkish Television.

He had survived coverage of wars but finally fell victim not to bullets, but to a weak heart, colleagues said Saturday.

Even before he traveled to Atlanta to cover the games, he had suffered heart spasms while working in Istanbul and was known to have heart problems.

He is survived by two children and his wife, Funda, an economics correspondent for the state-owned Anatolian News Agency.

“As far as we know he had a heart attack while running to cover the explosion and died on the way to hospital,” Orhan Tanakina, head of the Turkish Television Cameraman’s Association, said.

Uzunyol was born in the Anatolian city of Eskisehir in 1956 and graduated from the Ankara Gazi University journalism school.

He joined the television company in 1980 and became a full-fledged cameraman in 1983, Tanakina said.

He was promoted to chief cameraman in 1990.

His most recent assignments included coverage of wars in Azerbaijan and Bosnia and the Gulf War.

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