UTV presenter Brian Black's car dived into a harbour causing injuries that he later died from.
Mr Black, aged in his 70s, was pulled from Strangford Harbour, in Co Down, Northern Ireland, after bystanders reported a car in the water.
Emergency services responded and he was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital but he died from his injuries.
A car was pulled out the water of the harbour in Strangford, Co Down in Northern Ireland after Brian Black died aged in his 70s
Portaferry RNLI said they and the Portaferry Coastguard recovered the car and one casualty
Brian Black was an environmental journalist at UTV and many of his colleagues have written tributes for him
Northern Ireland's Fire and Rescue Service, Ambulance Service, Coastguard and Royal National Lifeboat Institution all responded to the call on Tuesday, the Mirror reported.
There is video footage and photographs showing the car being lifted out of the water at the harbour.
RNLI told the Belfast Telegraph 'Portaferry RNLI's inshore lifeboat was requested to launch at 11.30am this morning by Belfast Coastguard following a report of a car in the water.
'Portaferry RNLI and Portaferry Coastguard recovered a casualty from the water who was subsequently transferred to hospital.'
Mr Black was known for reporting on environmental issues and UTV's political editor Ken Reid was among many to pay tribute to the presenter.
He tweeted: 'Devastated. My old UTV colleague Brian Black has been killed in a tragic accident.
'He was a special man, great communicator with a special passion for improving our environment.
'The UTV family is in a state of shock at the loss. RIP.'
Photographer Kevin McAuley shared to social media: 'Very sad news breaking about Brian Black he was one of a kind great environmentalist, programme maker and presenter.
'What a sad way to go. I worked long side Brian on many shoots in North Antrim Fair Head and Rathlin Island. Brian RIP.'
Mr Black won the the Environmental Journalist of the Year award at Northern Ireland's Press and Broadcast Awards several times.
FORMER TV presenter Brian Black has died after his car plunged off a harbour wall into a river.
Mr Black, who had worked as a presenter and programme maker with UTV, was freed from the vehicle when it plunged into the Strangford harbour on Tuesday morning.
9
Brian Black has died after the car he was in plunged into Strangford Lough on Tuesday morning
9
The popular former TV presenter died this morning Credit: UTV
9
Tributes were paid to Mr Black by devastated former colleagues Credit: UTV
9
His car plunged into the water at Strangford Harbour, in County Down
9
Photos from the scene showed a car being hauled out of the water
9
Mr Black's car is pulled from the river this morning
He was then rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, where he later died.
Mr Black, who was known for his reporting on environmental issues, was in his 70s.
His car went into the water at Strangford Harbour, in County Down.
The incident was reported at Quay Road at about 11.40am this morning.
The NI Coastguard, Fire and Rescue Service, RNLI and the PSNI were involved in the operation, including a Coastguard helicopter from Prestwick and specialist rescue teams.
RISKY ROMPS
Sex BANNED in Northern homes if you don't live together in new lockdown rules
RACE RANT
Moment EastEnders star Katie Jarvis unleashes racist rant in drunken brawl
HOT SPOTS
Interactive map reveals if coronavirus cases are rising in YOUR area
Breaking
CARNAGE
Huge explosion with mushroom cloud rips through Beirut killing 10 & injuring scores
KNOCKING COP
PC 'performed oral sex on married foot fetishist sergeant in station'
Photos from the scene showed a Honda being hauled out of the water.
UTV's political editor Ken Reid said he and his colleagues were in a state of shock.
He tweeted: "Devastated. My old UTV colleague Brian Black has been killed in a tragic accident. He was a special man, great communicator with a special passion for improving our environment. The UTV family is in a state of shock at the loss. RIP."
Former UTV presenter Gerry Kelly also expressed his shock.
"I am devastated to learn of the tragic death of my former UTV colleague Brian Black. May he rest in peace," he wrote on Twitter.
Another ex-UTV presenter, Adrian Logan, tweeted: "Just heard the news about my former UTV colleague Brian Black. Very sad. RIP."
Former colleague Kate Smith wrote: "Shocked and so sad to hear of the death of my former UTV and prior to that RTE colleague Brian Black.
"I've known him a lifetime...he was always a true professional and a wonderful colleague. Deepest sympathy to his family. RIP Brian."
A NIFRS spokesman said Mr Black had been freed from the car by members of the public and the Coastguard.
"The Coastguard helicopter carried out an aerial search, while NIFRS specialist rescue team and the RNLI carried out search on the water to make sure there were no other casualties," he said.
9
Mr Black, who was known for his reporting on environmental issues, died this morning Credit: UTV
9
Mr Black's Honda was pulled from the harbour this morningCredit: PA:Press Association
9
Mr Black died in hospital after being freed from the vehicle, police have confirmed
I am devastated to learn of the tragic death of my former UTV colleague Brian Black.May he rest in peace.
Shocked and so sad to hear of the death of my former UTV and prior to that RTE colleague Brian Black. I’ve known him a lifetime ... he was always a true professional and a wonderful colleague.Deepest sympathy to his family .. RIP Brian pic.twitter.com/QKfRwrHiTy
Devastated. My old UTV colleague Brian Black has been killed in a tragic accident. He was a special man, great communicator with a special passion for improving our environment. The UTV family is in a state of shock at the loss. RIP
— Ken Reid #wash your hands and keep a safe distance (@KenReid_utv) August 4, 2020
So sad to learn of the passing of #BrianBlack. Brian was a superb journalist, programme maker and environmental champion. I send my condolences to his family and friends. The whole @utv family - past and present - will mourn the loss of a remarkable man. pic.twitter.com/AENL4Ws6uN
Sad news...... Police confirm Brian Black, aged in his 70’s, has died following an incident today. Police say they received a report at 11.30am that a car had entered the water at Strangford. Mr Black was freed from the vehicle and taken to hospital where he passed away.
The pilot of a light aircraft that crashed in East Sussex has died, police have said.
Emergency services including firefighters from a number of stations were sent to the scene near Heathfield after the plane came down just after 11am.
It had caught fire after crashing and the pilot is believed to have died instantly.
Sussex Police, whose officers attended the crash site alongside firefighters and ambulance crews, said his next-of-kin have been advised.
The incident has now been passed on to the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) for investigation, they added.
Advertisement
Earlier, an AAIB spokesman said: "The AAIB has sent a team to investigate an accident involving a light aircraft which crashed this morning near Heathfield, East Sussex."
Sussex Police said: "The pilot of a light aircraft sadly died when his plane crashed near Heathfield on Tuesday morning.
More from East Sussex
"Emergency services were called to the scene off Herrings Lane at 11.01am where the aircraft had caught fire after crashing.
"Unfortunately, the pilot is believed to have died instantly. His next-of-kin have been advised."
Ms Sturgeon said it was continuing to "take all necessary steps to minimise transmission" and stressed investigations into the outbreak are ongoing.
She added: "This particular cluster is another reminder that this virus is still out there and hasn't gone away.
"It remains extremely infectious and, of course, it remains extremely dangerous and all of of us have a part to play in denying it the opportunities to spread."
The first minister made clear that anyone contacted by a test and protect team and advised they are a close contact of someone with coronavirus must self isolate for 14 days.
She said: "That should be seen as non-negotiable."
Bar at the centre of Aberdeen’s COVID cluster has closed its doors ‘as a precautionary step’.
In a statement The Adams and Hawthorn said after having their whole team tested, the results had two positive cases. So they’ve closed the venue for 14 days. pic.twitter.com/reiJ5iVJ65
Ms Sturgeon emphasised the importance of self isolating for close contacts of positive cases, even if they themselves test negative, due to the incubation period of Covid-19.
She explained: "For example, on a Monday you might test negative for the virus but by the Tuesday you might have developed the virus without knowing it. At that point you could be infectious and yet it might not be until the Thursday or the Friday that you start to show any symptoms.
"In fact you might never show any symptoms at all but, if you are not isolating, you could nevertheless be spreading the virus."
Ms Sturgeon also urged employers not to think that testing a member of staff who is a close contact of a positive case is an alternative to self isolation.
She added: "That is simply not the case and I must stress that. There are simply no shortcuts here when it comes to trying to contain the spread of this virus."
What businesses have been affected?
Meanwhile, an Aberdeen hospitality firm has closed its bars with immediate effect after it was visited by a customer who tested positive for Covid-19.
PB Devco owns a number of businesses in the city, including Soul Bar, which was pictured with crowds gathered outside it at the weekend.
Owner and director Stuart Clarkson said his bars would close until "we feel safe to reopen."
Mr Clarkson added: "As soon as we heard someone who had tested positive had visited Soul, we immediately sought advice and followed the guidance of the government.
"However, we feel we now need to take the situation into our own hands to help limit the spread of the virus, as these are unprecedented times and things are escalating quickly."
He said the bar was still awaiting confirmation of the next steps for customers who visited Soul over the weekend.
In separate developments, the Cock and Bull in Balmedie confirmed it had been contacted by a customer who dined at the country inn on Sunday evening.
They did not have any symptoms but tested positive following a routine test before going offshore.
The owners said steps had been taken, including a deep clean, and they are confident any risk of the virus spreading has been minimised.
A statement posted on Facebook said: "Although we were not instructed to inform the public, we feel that transparency is key in these present circumstances therefore we wanted our customers to have this information in order to make an informed choice before choosing to dine with us."
And Deeside Golf Club has announced it was visited by someone in the last ten days who has since tested positive.
The club said it was alerted by environmental health officials and has undertaken additional cleaning and sanitising measures as a precaution.
Scottish school pupils have been finding out their results, with overall pass rates rising despite almost 125,000 grades being lowered by the exams body.
Exams were cancelled for the first time in history due to the coronavirus.
Results were worked out using estimates made by teachers based on the pupil's performance over the school year.
However, a national moderation system meant that many pupils received lower grades than originally estimated.
Opposition politicians have warned that there will now be a "deluge" of appeals, and accused the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) of treating the professional judgement of teachers with "contempt" by changing so many grades.
The SQA said its moderation process had ensured "fairness to all learners" and maintained "standards and credibility" in the qualification system.
About 138,000 students have been getting their results, with those who signed up for text or email alerts receiving their grades from 08:00 onwards, while certificates are arriving in the post during the day.
The pass rate for National 5 was 81.1%, while the Higher pass rate was 78.9% and the Advanced Higher rate was 84.9%.
In 2019, the National 5 pass rate was 78.2%, the Higher pass rate was 74.8% and the Advanced Higher rate was 79.4%.
Most pupils take their Nationals when they are in their fourth year of secondary school.
They can then stay at school for another two years and work towards Higher qualifications in their fifth year, and Advanced Highers in sixth year.
A total of 133,000 individual results were adjusted by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) from the initial estimates of grades that were submitted by teachers - a quarter of the total.
Of these, 6.9% of the estimates were adjusted up, while 93.1% were adjusted down. Almost all (96%) were adjusted by a single grade.
If the results had purely been based on the estimates from teachers, pass rates at grades A-C would have increased by 10.4 percentage points for National 5, by 14 percentage points for Higher and by 13.4 percentage points for Advanced Higher.
SQA figures also showed that the Higher pass rate for pupils from the most deprived backgrounds was reduced by 15.2 percentage points, compared to only 6.9 percentage points for the wealthiest pupils.
But the exams body insisted that the most deprived pupils had not suffered compared to previous years - and the Scottish government said the attainment gap has narrowed this year.
Education Secretary John Swinney said the estimated results would have led to a higher annual change than had ever been seen before in Scottish exam results.
He added: "I know teachers and lecturers will always want the best for their pupils but I believe that teachers have acted professionally."
Scottish school pupils traditionally find out their results earlier than those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who will receive their grades for A-levels on 13 August and GCSEs on 20 August.
'Difficult decisions'
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said pupils deserved "enormous credit" for the way they had coped after exams were cancelled across the UK as schools closed and the country went into lockdown in March.
She added: "At a moment's notice you had to adapt to new forms of learning, your contact with friends and family was restricted, many of you missed out on a proper end to your final year, you didn't get to sit exams.
"Of course, you're now having to think about your future in a time of real economic uncertainty.
"All of that has been really tough and we don't underestimate how tough that has been, and I know that for some of you there will be difficult decisions that lie ahead."
Pupils at Holyrood Secondary in Glasgow were among those to receive their grades on Tuesday morning.
Dionne told BBC Breakfast she had not known what to expect - but got "exactly what I was hoping for".
"It means I'm going to university and I'm just so happy. I can't believe it," she said.
Her father John said he was "so proud" of his daughter.
"She's done so much better than I could have ever done at school. It's been such a time of uncertainty and it's a massive wait over now."
This year was the first time since 1888 that exams were cancelled in Scottish schools.
Pupils should have been sitting exams in National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher subjects in May and June. There are no formal exams for National 2, National 3 and National 4 qualifications.
What help is available to pupils?
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Skills Development Scotland runs a free results helpline offering careers advice, information and guidance on 0808 100 8000.
It will be open from 0800 to 2000 on Tuesday and Wednesday, then 0900 to 1700 on Thursday and Friday. Information and advice is also available on the My World of Work website.
James Russell, from SDS, said this year was "unlike any other" and that it was understandable that young people and their families would be feeling more anxious than usual.
"Our advice and support is available and our message is if your results aren't what you expected, don't worry - you have lots of options," he said.
The #NoWrongPath campaign is encouraging people to share their own stories on social media to highlight the different paths available to young people who may be feeling disheartened by their results.
The SQA's candidate advice line will run from 0800 to 1800 on Tuesday, and from 0830 to 1700 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The number is 0345 279 1000.
Support and advice is also available on the SQA website and on BBC Bitesize. Young people can also call Childline on 0800 1111 or get advice about exam results on its website.
How were the results decided?
As in the rest of the UK, the grades of pupils who were unable to sit exams have been worked out using estimates made by their teachers based on their performance over the school year.
Teachers were asked to place students within bands for each subject, and rank their pupils in order.
These assessments were then checked by the SQA, which said grades had been moderated "where appropriate" to "maintain national standards".
The SQA said it had sought to "uphold the integrity and credibility" of the system in its moderation, but that its efforts had been focused on "ensuring fairness for all learners".
The exams body also said it would look at each school's previous history of estimating results and attainment, but denied that a school's previous record could put pupils at either an advantage or a disadvantage.
Where a pupil receives a lower grade than the one estimated by their teacher or lecturer, they will be able to use a free appeals process.
Scottish Labour has accused the SQA of treating the judgement of teachers with "contempt" by lowering the grades of so many pupils - which can damage their prospects for university or college.
The party's education spokesman, Iain Gray, said: "Worst of all, the SQA have done this on the basis of each school's past performance, marking the school not the pupil, and baking in the attainment gap.
"They were told that this would be grossly unfair and it is.
"The SQA will now be deluged with appeals. I hope they are ready to deal with them properly."
This has been a results day like no other - with grades based on estimates by teachers rather than exams.
Pass rates are up in National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers but they are still similar to the pass rates in previous years.
This is crucial - dramatic rises could have undermined the achievements of learners.
Around a quarter of teachers' estimated grades were adjusted by the SQA - mostly downwards.
Some candidates or teachers will be disappointed by this but it highlights the importance of the appeals system.
Where a grade is adjusted down, appeals can be made but supporting evidence will be needed
This is crucial to the integrity of the system.
Have you received your results today? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.
