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Reporter Suspended After She 'Muddied Herself To Pretend She Helped Flood Clean Up'

Reporter Suspended After She 'Muddied Herself To Pretend She Helped Flood Clean Up'

She was filmed appearing to smear herself in mud

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A German news reporter has been suspended after she was caught appearing to smear mud on herself to make it look as though she'd been helping out in a town hit by floods. You can see the clip here:

Susanna Ohlen was reporting from Bad Munstereifel, North Rhine-Westphalia, which has been devastated by floods.

Ohlen had been featured in a RTL.de article under the headline: Cleaning up after the flood: RTL presenter lends a hand in Bad Münstereifel.

However, footage was shared online by Twitter user Eddie Graf which appeared to show Ohlen muddying herself up before speaking to the camera.

In the clip, Ohlen can be seen wearing boots and a hat, she then appears to bend down and grab some mud before smearing it on her clothes.

She then bends down again and this time wipes the mud on her face, before turning back around to her camera crew.

After the footage was shared online, RTL.de removed the article and has since released a statement in which it said Ohlen has been suspended.

Instagram

The statement read: "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."

In a statement on her Instagram page Ohlen admitted to making a 'serious mistake' but insisted that she had helped with the flood efforts on 'previous days'.

She went on to say she was 'ashamed' before apologising for her actions.

The devastating floods in western Germany have resulted in at least 171 deaths, the Guardian reports, while more than 750 people have been left with injuries.

A further 155 people were still missing a week after the flood hit.

PA

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Bad Münstereifel, shortly before it was announced that the German Government had signed off on a €400 million (£345.7 million) package of immediate aid for victims.

Merkel said the government 'will do everything ... so that the money comes quickly to people who often have nothing left but the clothes on their backs'.

Adding: "I hope this is a question of days."

She also warned that getting the town back to how it was will take 'more than a few months'.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: Germany