Employee fired after local NBC newscast gets interrupted by vulgar audio clip

A KRIS Communications broadcast was interrupted by a vulgar audio clip on Monday. (KRIS Communications)

An employee at a Corpus Christi, Texas news station has been fired, and others suspended or reprimanded, after a live broadcast was interrupted with a vulgar and disturbing audio clip.

"We sincerely regret the error and apologize to our viewers that were watching on Monday evening," KRIS Communications, an NBC affiliate, wrote in a statement. “We immediately began an investigation of the mistake and how it occurred. We learned that a series of technical and human errors lead to the mistake."

During a report about the area’s new Harbor Bridge, the screen abruptly cut to black in the middle of Monday night's broadcast, and a male voice could be heard whispering obscenities.

“Smell it, finger it, f--- it, lick it, smell it,” the voice says in the video below.

[WARNING: The below video contains graphic language.]

The statement noted that it was a male station reporter’s voice in the audio, but did not give further details as to his identity. It did, however, mention that actions were taken, including a termination of one employee as well as a suspension and reprimands to an undisclosed number of employees. Additionally, the station is reviewing its editing workflow to prevent similar future incidents.

News Director Paul Alexander told The Caller Times, “Mistakes like this cannot happen again.”

The moment in question was recorded and posted to Facebook by a user named Korbin Boomer Matthews.