Samira Mohamed Abdi was in transit in Turkey with her family when three suicide bombers attacked Istanbul's main airport, killing 41 people and leaving over 230 others injured.
She told the BBC Somali service that in the rush to hide after the first explosion, her 13-year-old daughter went missing:
"We could see the explosion - it was just in front of us. All of a sudden, we saw the security people running up and down and shouting. We all went into hiding in the cafe's store room – about 20 people in a small room. We locked ourselves in as we heard the gunshots, then we realised one of us was missing. It was my saddest moment. I couldn’t locate my daughter." The girl’s grandfather then rushed out to find her
"He went out while all people were lying on the floor and the gunfire was continuing. He was calling her by her name, ‘Aisha, Aisha! Where are you?’ He found shoes on the floor but they were not hers." He couldn’t see her – but 20 minutes later, Samira received a call:
"Fortunately, she was hiding somewhere else and she asked a Russian guy to call, and then there was the second explosion."
She said it took Aisha time to find someone who spoke English to help her, so she could get in touch.
Comments
Post a Comment