Yesterday, a four person BBC team arrived at Kifri, a town in the southern part of the Kurdish area of Iraq, on a filming trip. The cameraman Kaveh Golestan stepped out of their car on to a mine and paid for it, dying instantly..

In a statement, the UK broadcaster also said that producer Stuart Hughes was caught by the blast and has injured his foot. Correspondent Jim Muir and the local translator were unhurt.

The Iranian cameraman had worked for the BBC in a freelance capacity for about three years. He became the BBC's contract cameraman in Tehran, Iran in September 2000, and had worked for many western news organisations.

The Pulitzer prize winner won recognition for his work during the Iranian Revolution and the gassing of the Kurds in the 1988 Iran-Iraq War. He leaves behind a wife and an 19-year-old son.