Richard Engel stops broadcast to help pregnant refugee who collapses in front of him

The NBC journalist rushed to help the heavily pregnant teenager

The journalist came to the aid of a pregnant woman

The US journalist Richard Engel ran to the aid of a pregnant woman who collapsed in front of him as he reported on the refugee crisis at the Hungarian border.

The woman walked past the network’s chief foreign correspondent and fainted as he began his broadcast shortly after tear gas and water cannons were deployed against refugees who were stopped from crossing into Hungary this week.

"This woman just collapsed in front of me, she is breathing, they are calling to get her some water," he said as the camera continued to film.

"She is breathing, she’s breathing, she's waking up," he added while attempting to keep her awake. Engel then supported her head to keep her breathing and joined aid workers who rushed her off to a makeshift tent for treatment, which was then attacked with tear gas.

He later met up with the 19-year-old after she had recovered and was reunited with her husband, where he discovered she was just two weeks away from her due date.

The distressing footage highlights the increasingly desperate situations facing refugees trapped after borders were closed to Hungary. Many are now heading for Croatia after police warned anyone who entered the country “illegally” would be prosecuted.

Some asylum seekers have started hunger striking at the Hungarian border in a final attempt to gain access to safety.