³ÉÈËXÕ¾

SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

New York Post photographer publishes image of man about to die

Dec 4, 2012, 11:51 AM | Updated: 3:10 pm

Warning: This story may be upsetting to some people.

R. Umar Abbasi, a freelance photographer at The New York Post, .

The photo shows 58-year-old Ki Suk Han, of Queens, struggling to climb onto a subway platform after he was pushed onto the train tracks. In the photo, an approaching subway train is clearly pictured as it runs toward him. Han was killed seconds later.

The New York Post, which broke the story, .

Han’s death was the result of . The suspect is thought to be mentally ill; he appeared to be standing off to the side of the crowd when he and Ki Suk Han began speaking. Some time later, the suspect is thought to have pushed the man down off the subway platform and into the path of the train.

“This photographer, instead of extending a hand and helping pull the guy up onto the platform, he kept taking pictures,” said Dori. “And the photographer said, ‘oh, yeah, I did that because .'”

Dori thinks that the photographer sacrificed the man’s life purposefully to get a dramatic photo. Having visited the same train station on a visit to New York, Dori knows how fast the trains race to a stop.

Producer Jake said that, before he saw the photo, he assumed that Ki Suk Han was down on the tracks and that any effort to save him would seriously endanger the photographer. However, as he later saw, it was just a matter of pulling the victim up to the platform.

“There’s an argument to be made that maybe this guy didn’t think it would be possible to get down there and to save that guy’s limp body,” said Jake. “But this guy is standing up, he’s already a foot above the ledge. And his arms are reached out, you can tell he was trying to pull himself up – he just wasn’t able to do so.”

Many people discussing the situation on accuse Abbasi of letting Han die. Others say that the photographer was not obligated to act, considering the fact that he might have put himself in danger as well.

“You have to try,” said Dori.

Please follow our Community Guidelines

Seattle News Archives & Features

Associated Press

Mountain lion bites 4-year-old on popular Olympic National Park trail, injuring child

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — A mountain lion bit a 4-year-old who was walking with their family over the weekend on a popular trail in Olympic National Park in Washington state, park officials said Monday. The child was injured during Sunday’s attack and flown to a trauma center in Seattle for treatment, according to a […]

22 days ago

Tom Brock

Bear Gulch Wildfire near Lake Cushman growing in size

A wildfire burning near Lake Cushman continues to grow in the Olympic National Forest.

23 days ago

Associated Press

Seattle man charged with string of burglaries at the homes of NFL and MLB stars

SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle man was charged Friday with a string of burglaries at the homes of prominent current and former football and baseball players, marking the latest example of well-known athletes being targeted in home thefts. Earl Henderson Riley IV, 21, was charged with several counts of residential burglary in both occupied and […]

2 months ago

Associated Press

Campgrounds closed along Pacific Crest Trail in search for man wanted in daughters’ deaths

SEATTLE (AP) — Authorities have closed a wide swath of popular campgrounds and backpacking areas along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington as they search for a former Army soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters. Dozens of additional law enforcement officers from an array of agencies joined the investigation and search […]

2 months ago

In this undated photo released by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office, a cache of military weaponr...

Associated Press

2 arrested with arsenal and Nazi paraphernalia after base robbery were ex-military, prosecutors say

SEATTLE (AP) — Two men arrested in Washington state with an arsenal that included grenade launchers and body armor, along with Nazi paraphernalia, were former military members who attacked a soldier with a hammer while stealing gear from Joint Base Lewis-McChord last weekend, investigators say. Levi Austin Frakes and Charles Ethan Fields were arrested Monday […]

2 months ago

Associated Press

Authorities are searching for a Washington state father of 3 dead girls

WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state father is wanted for murder after his three young daughters were reported missing and then found dead. Police on Tuesday asked the public for help in finding the father of the girls, Travis Decker, 32. He is wanted for three counts of murder and kidnapping, the Wenatchee Police […]

2 months ago

New York Post photographer publishes image of man about to die