TG4 apologises after CGI clip shows caravan kicked off cliff

Automatic reel broadcast before bulletin on woman killed after caravan blown over cliff

TG4 have apologised after an "auto-scheduled" clip featuring a monster kicking a caravan into the sea aired before a news bulletin about a Swiss woman who was killed when her caravan was toppled by Storm Ali in Galway. Video: TG4

TG4 has apologised after a computer-generated imagery (CGI) clip broadcast before a news bulletin on Wednesday showed a caravan being kicked off a cliff into the sea.

On Wednesday a woman in her 50s was killed during Storm Ali, when a caravan she was staying in was swept off the coast by strong winds.

The woman, who has been named as Elvira Ferraii from Switzerland, was staying on her own in the caravan at the Clifden Eco Beach Camping and Caravan Park near Claddaghduff, Co Galway, when the incident occurred at about 7.45am.

Firefighters from Dún Laoghaire attend the scene of a fallen tree on Wednesday morning. Photograph: Dublin Fire Brigade/Twitter
Firefighters from Dún Laoghaire attend the scene of a fallen tree on Wednesday morning. Photograph: Dublin Fire Brigade/Twitter

On Wednesday a TG4 clip depicted a scene of a giant creature carrying a caravan, before kicking it into the sea. The clip was shown before the 7pm Nuacht TG4 bulletin, which led with the news of Ms Ferraii’s death.

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TG4 apologised for the clip, which it said ran on air only once on Wednesday.

“The ident [a broadcasting term which is short for station identification] is one of a series of six idents, running since 2013, which are auto-scheduled,” said a spokesman. “The ident [was] broadcast once yesterday and was immediately removed from the schedule. TG4 sincerely apologise for the unfortunate scheduling of this ident and any undue stress caused.”

The Irish language station said it had not received any complaints about the clip to date.

Jack Power

Jack Power

Jack Power is acting Europe Correspondent of The Irish Times