Ecuador: TV crew held up and robbed at gunpoint live on air as thief’s escape filmed

A TV crew was robbed at gunpoint during a live broadcast – as they filmed the masked man pointing a revolver at them before he escaped.

Ecuadorian sports journalist Diego Ordinola was on camera at lunchtime outside the Estadio Monumental in the city of Guayaquil last week.

A man wearing a face mask and cap appeared and pointed a handgun at the journalist while demanding he hand over his phone.

Mr Ordinola was pleading with the robber, saying he was at work, when the man turned his gun on the DIRECTV camera operator.

The camera operator kept recording as the man ran off with his mobile phone.

The crew then chased after the robber and managed to film his escape on the back of a motorbike, but they did not catch up with him.

Mr Ordinola shared the footage on Twitter, saying the Ecuadorian police have promised to find the man.

The video has been viewed more than 650,000 times.