Hot Mic? Off-Camera Conversation About 'They' Being Happy With 'Black People Drowning' Heard on ABC Live Stream

People who turned to ABCNews.com for live streaming video coverage of the Republican National Convention on Monday were treated to a strange off-camera conversation about "black people drowning."

"Feel free to say it," one woman can be heard saying, "they're not concerned at all. They’re -- "

"They are happy to have a party with black people drowning," said Yahoo! News Washington bureau chief David Chalian, as NewsBusters was the first to report.

Who's the "they" in that sentence and why was his remark about "black people drowning" met with laughter?

You can hear their comments at the very beginning of this video:

To be fair, we are coming in on the tail end of their discussion. Some have speculated that the people in the video are referring to the GOP 's decision to continue with its convention in Tampa, Fla., despite the fact that hurricane Isaac has made landfall in New Orleans. But, again, we don't have the full context of the conversation.

Still, the "black people drowning" remark -- and the laughter it incites -- probably would not have happened had the participants known the microphones were still recording.

UPDATE -- TheBlaze reached out to Yahoo! for comment on Chalian's remarks and received the following statement:

David Chalian's statement was inappropriate and does not represent the views of Yahoo!.  He has been terminated effective immediately. We have already reached out to the Romney campaign, and we apologize to Mitt Romney, his staff, their supporters and anyone who was offended.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter.

This article has been updated and corrected.