*This post has been updated.

Oscar nominated director Tim Hetherington and Pulitzer Prize nominated photographer Chris Hondros were killed earlier today in Libya. Two other photographers were injured, one seriously.

The four photographers were reporting from the Libyan town of Misurata, which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks. The Washington Post has further details about what happened on the ground from one of their journalists who was there. Apparently the journalists had accompanied rebel fighters to Tripoli Street in the city center.

The news of their deaths first surfaced on

*This post has been updated numerous times today. The updates below run from most recent to least.

UPDATE [6:04 PM]: The NYT is confirming that Chris Hondros has died.

"Chris Hondros of the Getty photo agency died within a few hours of devastating brain trauma... Mr. Hondros suffered an extensive loss of brain tissue and was revived twice before being triaged from care. He spent several hours in a coma and died after 10 p.m., Mr. Liohn said."

Previously:

UPDATE 2: Vanity Fair tweets Hondros "remains in grave condition."

UPDATE 3: The New York Times correspondent C.J. Chivers published the following:

"Tim Hetherington, the Oscar-nominated film director and conflict photographer who produced the film Restrepo, was killed in the besieged city of Misurata on Wednesday, and three photographers working beside him were wounded."

"The wounds to two of the photographers -- Chris Hondros and Guy Martin -- were grave, according to a colleague at the triage center where they were being treated Wednesday night. Their prospects for survival were not immediately clear."

"Mr. Hondros, an American working for the Getty photo agency, suffered a severe brain injury and was in extremely critical condition, according to Mr. Liohn. He had been revived and was clinging to life in the evening. A later update from Mr. Liohn said that Mr. Hondros was in a coma at the medical center, which is located near the front lines."

This is terrible news.

There are reports that photographers Tim Hetherington and

In besieged Libyan city of Misrata. Indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO."