ISTANBUL: Abdullah Al-Shamrani, a court employee from Taif, was meters away from the Ataturk airport blast, but luck was on his side and he escaped the deadly carnage simply by having decided to use a different exit to buy a Turkish SIM card for his cellular phone.
“I went to Istanbul to spend Eid holiday with my wife Zakia Al-Qarni, a teacher, and my children — Nauf, Hatem, Dana and Jumana,” he said.
“We were skeptical before booking our flights, due to what we hear about the situation in Turkey, but decided to travel anyway. When we arrived at the airport, I picked up my luggage and took a photo with my children. I had no idea we would be so very close to the blast site,” he recalled.
“I said goodbye to our fellow passengers, but rather than exiting with them via the gate, we went to get a Turkish SIM card for my cell phone and get a car.”
As the attack began, he said, a security man guided them to a restroom to hide until further notice. While they were hiding there, a Saudi family joined them (a father with two of his children).
Shamrani said his boys were slightly injured, while the two girls received various injuries to the stomach.
The family had to wait for about an hour until ambulances came and carried them off to safety.
Shamrani said while at the airport, he contacted the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul. Employees there asked for his contact information and told him to wait at the airport until they arrived.
However, security men asked all people to leave the airport via a secret exit leading to a private garage, so he needed to contact the embassy personnel again to reassure them of his family's condition.
Scattered at the scene of mayhem were children's toys, passports of those injured or killed in the blast and blood, said Shamrani.
“I thought of returning to the Kingdom, but I was too scared of the airport so I decided to wait until the embassy gave us further notice and guidance about whether to stay until after Eid or return to the Kingdom,” he said.
“I went to Istanbul to spend Eid holiday with my wife Zakia Al-Qarni, a teacher, and my children — Nauf, Hatem, Dana and Jumana,” he said.
“We were skeptical before booking our flights, due to what we hear about the situation in Turkey, but decided to travel anyway. When we arrived at the airport, I picked up my luggage and took a photo with my children. I had no idea we would be so very close to the blast site,” he recalled.
“I said goodbye to our fellow passengers, but rather than exiting with them via the gate, we went to get a Turkish SIM card for my cell phone and get a car.”
As the attack began, he said, a security man guided them to a restroom to hide until further notice. While they were hiding there, a Saudi family joined them (a father with two of his children).
Shamrani said his boys were slightly injured, while the two girls received various injuries to the stomach.
The family had to wait for about an hour until ambulances came and carried them off to safety.
Shamrani said while at the airport, he contacted the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul. Employees there asked for his contact information and told him to wait at the airport until they arrived.
However, security men asked all people to leave the airport via a secret exit leading to a private garage, so he needed to contact the embassy personnel again to reassure them of his family's condition.
Scattered at the scene of mayhem were children's toys, passports of those injured or killed in the blast and blood, said Shamrani.
“I thought of returning to the Kingdom, but I was too scared of the airport so I decided to wait until the embassy gave us further notice and guidance about whether to stay until after Eid or return to the Kingdom,” he said.
