Australian radio station 2Day FM to donate $526,000 to nurse’s family
The 2DayFM radio station has received more than 1000 complaints from listeners over the prank call.
The Australian radio station behind the prank call to a British nurse who later took her own life has pledged to donate at least $A500,000 ($526,000) to a fund for the woman’s family.
Sydney broadcaster 2Day FM said it would donate all of its advertising revenues for the rest of the year to the memorial fund for Jacintha Saldanha, who answered the hoax call at the London hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate for morning sickness, Reuters reported.
"We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund, we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time," Rhys Holleran, chief executive of Southern Cross Austero, which owns the station, said in a statement cited by Australian ABC News.
Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian called King Edward VII's Hospital in the early hours of December 4 asking for an update on the Duchess of Cambridge's condition.
Saldanha answered the call and, believing Greig and Christian to be members of the Royal Family, transferred them to another nurse who gave a detailed update about the hospital's famous patient, the BBC reported.
Saldanha was later found dead. She is believed to have committed suicide.
Greig and Christian have been taken off the air and the future of their show is not known. The DJs have told Australian media that they are "gutted, shattered and heartbroken" over Saldanha's death.
The radio station has received more than 1,000 complaints from listeners over the actions of the popular presenters, and social media sites have been bombarded with reactions.