Breaking News at 1:30 am. Five workers cleaning out a water well that is used for hosing down the public fish market were overcome by some type of deadly fumes. The TVM news team swung into action with live reports throughout the night. Here are some staff members watching the live coverage on the big monitor in the newsroom.

Every time I worry that these broadcasters aren’t ready to cover a big story like the elections, they rise to the occasion on something like this. They got all the elements, including the rescuers and the dash to the hospital in a last ditch attempt to save the workers. The five victims were all from the same island and somehow cousins to a few people in the newsroom, including tsunami survivor Sulaiman who turned a good package with a worker who was supposed to go down into the pit but didn’t.
The TV heroes of the night were Waseem and Huzam, who came in to get the story. These two drive me crazy sometimes, disappearing from the newsroom when things don’t go their way. However, when the news hits the fan they show a lot of maturity. Great job guys!

Update: Even President Gayoom thought the coverage on the 8 pm news was pretty good and he texted his opinion after the show. Of course, we included his :30 soundbite from the latest youth day event, expressing condolences to the families. We also used the 8:30 “Nightline” program for more indepth interviews with a chemical expert and one of the rescuers.