David McNew/Newsmakers

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CNN is backtracking after two journalists for the network entered the site of a massacre at a Thailand daycare center where more than 30 people were killed, including 20 children.

CNN pulled the story and video and issued an apology after authorities were not pleased with the handling of the story, accusing the journalists of never receiving permission to enter the site.

CNN International’s executive vice president and general manager Mike McCarthy claimed in a statement published by the Associated Press that the journalists did receive permission, but not from the right people, claiming the network “now understands that these officials were not authorized to grant this permission.”

Deputy National Police Chief Surachate Hakparn revealed the two journalists — reporter Anna Coren and cameraman Daniel Hodge — paid fines and agreed to leave the country.

“We deeply regret any distress or offense our report may have caused, and for any inconvenience to the police at such a distressing time for the country,” McCarthy said in a statement about the incident.

According to statements from CNN, they had a crew

filming at the Nong Bua Lamphu daycare center “with other media” and received permission from multiple “public health officials” to enter and film inside. The network said their crew was only at the site for about 15 minutes. While they were there, they also claimed the crew needed to climb a fence to leave as a police cordon was put back in place.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand also released a statement about CNN’s coverage, calling it a “serious breach of journalistic ethics.”

“This was unprofessional and a serious breach of journalistic ethics in crime reporting,” the group said in a statement on the coverage.