How The Ecuador TV Station Attack Unfolded

New footage has captured the extraordinary scenes as a group of armed, masked men broke into a TV studio in Ecuador during a live news broadcast on Tuesday afternoon.

The programme on the TC Channel based in the city of Guayaquil was interrupted and presenters and producers were forced to the floor before the live feed was cut off.

One of the assailants said, “We’re on air to show that you can’t mess with the mafia.”

Police sources told The Telegraph that dynamite had been planted in the studio’s reception.

Officers stormed the TC Channel building and arrested 13 men. Ecuador’s attorney general’s office says the men will be charged with terrorism.

Assailants pointed their guns at the well-known TV presenter, José Luis Calderon, as they showed their hand grenades and explosives to the cameras.

Local media in the city of Guayaquil are reporting that staff working on the news programme had been taken hostage. 9 January 2024