Pulitzer-winning image sent wave of anger around the world

Reuters won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography on Monday for a picture of a Japanese videographer killed during a demonstration in Myanmar. Photo / Reuters

Adrees Latif's Pulitzer Prize-winning picture of a Japanese video journalist shot dead by police in Yangon, Myanmar, dominated front pages around the world.

It played a role in the public outrage at the crackdown by military rulers against Buddhist monks which the United Nations said killed at least 31 people.

But the Reuters photographer himself was unaware of the scale of the image as he hurriedly took the photograph - he initially thought the man had been trampled during the protest, in September last year.

Latif was in the city for four days as soldiers and government agents gathered and faced off protesters.

As barbed-wire coils were thrown down, Latif climbed an old crosswalk overhead to get one of the few spots offering a clear view.

"Two minutes later, the shooting started," Latif told guardian.co.uk.

"My eye caught a person flying backwards through the air. Instinctively, I started photographing, capturing four frames of the man on his back.

"More shots rang out. I flinched before getting off two more frames - one of the man pointing the camera at the soldier, and one of his face contorted in pain."

Beyond him, the crowd scattered before the advancing soldier.

"The whole incident, which went on to reverberate around the world, was over in two seconds."

Two of the frames showed the man's face. A few hours later his colleagues in Japan had identified him as Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai.