A reporter for BBC News was doing some serious journalism work in the Middle East, reporting on several tons of burning drugs behind him, when it seems as if he ingested the burning drugs in the air. Watch his hilarious attempt at putting together a news segment after inhaling the fumes, below.
Reporter Quentin Sommerville is used to getting into some strange situations. However, those strange situations don’t usually involve 8.5 tons of heroin, opium, hashish and “other narcotics.” In the video, Sommerville barely delivers a line about the drugs burning behind him before he dissolves into a fit of giggles. He later attempts to get the serious shot done saying, “Quick, we just need one more!” However, that’s a failed attempt, as well, as Sommerville is soon having another laughing fit. I sure hope the cameramen were far enough away from the burning drugs that they also weren’t mentally altered. Someone had to drive back home…
Sommerville tweeted out the video this morning with a note mentioning “You've earned a xmas laugh, at my expense.” Later, Sommerville personally pulled the footage, but it has been making the rounds virally ever since. The Telegraph notes that the footage is from a report Sommerville actually filmed four years ago. For obvious reasons, the BBC never aired the clip, and it never saw the light of day until the reporter decided to share the amusing segment with his fans.
Wacky stuff happens on the news all the time. Both the local news and professional, high-end news outlets are subject to bloopers and goofs on TV. When these moments are filmed live, they often go viral in the days following, which is exactly what happened when Fox News’ Megyn Kelly accidentally dropped an F-bomb on live TV earlier this year. However, a lot of news segments are taped, so when there are flubs, the audiences doesn’t often get to see them. So, Sommerville’s drug-related blooper clip is a rare find indeed.
This clip might even beat out my former favorite 2014 news clip, which follows an Alaskan news anchor who drops an F-bomb live on the air before quitting her job as a CBS affiliate. We’ll just go ahead and share it again, as it is too good to miss.
If you are interested in more viral news videos, there are plenty to go around, including a news anchor who accidentally simulated oral sex, another who accidentally drew a penis live on the air, or the crew who freaked out over a gigantic hulk statue in the backyard.
