Vietnam War photographer Van Es dies

HONG KONG, May 15 (UPI) -- Dutch photographer Hugh Van Es, 67, who shot stark photos of the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War, died Friday in a Hong Kong hospital, his family said.

Van Es's wife, Anne, said he never regained consciousness after suffering a brain hemorrhage last week, the BBC reported.

One of Van Es's most recognized photographs shows U.S. citizens packed in a rooftop stairwell to board a helicopter during the evacuation of Saigon in 1975. He photographed the war between 1969 and 1975, working first for The Associated Press, then United Press International.

The photograph of people crammed on the stairs waiting to board the aircraft was shot from the roof of the UPI bureau, the British broadcaster said. The photo was taken at an apartment building, not the U.S. embassy in Saigon as mistakenly thought.

Van Es moved from the Netherlands to Hong Kong in 1967. After Vietnam, he returned to Hong Kong, and continued to photograph international conflict, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Moro rebellion in the Philippines.

Ernst Herb, Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club president, described Van Es as "an inspiration" who "really captured the spirit of foreign reporting."