Circumstances of His Death
On 14 January 2008, Thomassen was covering Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre's visit to Kabul. Støre and his entourage were staying in the Serena Hotel, as were several foreign reporters and diplomats. While Thomassen was waiting to meet Støre in the lobby, at least two Talibani militants forced their way into the Serena Hotel by killing the guards posted outside the main entrance using hand grenades. At least one of the militants was dressed in an Afghan police uniform, which may have delayed the reaction of the PST bodyguards inside the hotel.
Thomassen was wounded in the arm, leg and stomach. Once the firing died down, he received first aid from VG photographer Harald Henden, Aftenposten reporter Tor Arne Andreassen, and other unnamed reporters from Verdens Gang and TV2. In the confusion following the attack, he was not evacuated until almost two hours after the attack. He went into shock in the ambulance, and died shortly after while undergoing surgery at a nearby field hospital operated by Czech ISAF forces. Due to the nature of his injuries, it is doubtful that he would have survived even if he had been evacuated earlier.
At least six other people were killed in the attack, in addition to the militants themselves.
Read more about this topic: Carsten Thomassen (journalist)
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