Seven Network via Reuters TV
2DayFM Sydney-based announcers, Michael Christian and Mel Greig, who made a prank call to a British hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate said the death of a nurse involved had left them "shattered, gutted, heartbroken."
By NBC News staff and wire reports
Updated at 8:55 a.m. ET: CANBERRA, Australia -- Two Australian radio announcers who made a prank call to a British hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate broke a three-day silence Monday to speak of their distress over the death of the nurse who took their call.
The 2DayFM Sydney-based announcers, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, said the tragedy had left them "shattered, gutted, heartbroken."
Greig and fellow presenter and prank mastermind Christian have been in hiding since nurse Jacintha Saldanha's death and the subsequent social media outrage at their prank.?Saldanha's is being treated as unexplained while an investigation takes place.
Greig told the ?Today Tonight? program on Australia?s Channel 7 that her first thought when told of Saldanha's death was for her family.
Prank-call radio station suspends DJs, ads; dead nurse's family 'deeply saddened'
"Unfortunately I remember that moment very well, because I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened," she said, amid tears and her voice quavering with emotion. "I remember my first question was 'was she a mother?'."
"I've wanted to just reach out to them and just give them a big hug and say sorry. I hope they're okay, I really do. I hope they get through this," said a black-clad Greig when asked about Saldanha's two children, left grieving her death with their father Ben Barboza.
The radio DJs who prank called the hospital where Prince William's wife Duchess Kate was being treated are facing tremendous backlash following the death of one of the nurses who spoke with them. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.
Details of Kate's condition disclosed
Saldanha, 46, was found dead in staff accommodation near London's King Edward VII hospital on Friday after putting the hoax call through to a colleague who unwittingly disclosed details of Kate's morning sickness to 2DayFM's presenters.
A recording of the call, broadcast repeatedly by the station, rapidly became an internet hit and was reprinted as a transcript in many newspapers.
But news of Saldanha's death sparked the Internet firestorm, with vitriolic comments toward the DJs on Facebook and Twitter.
Christian said his only wish was that Saldanha's grief-stricken family received proper support.
"I hope that they get the love, the support, the care that they need, you know," said Christian, who like Greig struggled to talk about the tragedy.
Radio station owner calls death of nurse who took royal prank call 'truly tragic'
In a statement, the radio station's parent company, Southern Cross Austero, said it had suspended advertising on 2Day FM until further notice, ended the two DJs? Hot 30 program, suspended prank calls across the company, and begun a comprehensive review of relevant company polices and practices.
"The company does not consider that the broadcast of the segment has breached any relevant law, regulation or code. The company will fully cooperate with any investigations," the statement said.
'Processes in place'
Both Greig, 30, and Christian were relatively new to the station, with Greig joining in March and Christian having been in the job only a few days before the prank call after a career in regional radio.
They said the idea for the call had come from a team meeting before the show. Greig said she did not think their prank would work.
"We thought 100 people before us would've tried it. We thought it was such a silly idea and the accents were terrible and not for a second did we expect to speak to Kate, let alone have a conversation with anyone at the hospital. We wanted to be hung up on," she said.
King Edward VII hospital in London is still reeling from being seriously punked by two radio DJ's who called and spoke to Kate's nurse. Meanwhile, the two Australians DJs apologized for their hoax. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
The DJs said the protocols established by the radio station?s parent company were followed before the phone call was made.
?There are processes in place,? Christian said.
Christian drew headlines only two weeks before the royal prank call by angering fellow passengers with a harmonica-playing stunt aboard pop star Rihanna's private jet.
Complaints pour in
Southern Cross Austereo has received more than 1,000 complaints from Australians over the actions of the popular presenters.
Nurse who was duped by prank call about Duchess Kate found dead
The station said it had tried to contact hospital staff five times over the recordings.
Southern Cross Media Group CEO Rhys Holleran spoke to reporters concerning the death of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse involved in the radio prank call to Duchess Kate Middleton's hospital, saying the tragedy "could not have been reasonably foreseen" and he and the presenters are "deeply saddened" by it.
"It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people on multiple occasions," said Southern Cross Austereo chief executive Rhys Holleran.
"No one could have reasonably foreseen what has happened. I can only say the prank call is not unusual around the world," he said.
The fallout from the radio stunt has brought back memories in Britain of the death of William's mother Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 and threatens to cast a pall over the birth of his and Kate's first child.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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