News / International
Two Zimbabweans caught up in Paris terror attack alive and well
16 Nov 2015 at 00:22hrs | Views
Johannesburg - Two Zimbabweans who were among foreigners caught up in deadly terrorist attacks in the French capital, Paris on Friday say they are safe but still shaken by the events.
One of the Zimbabweans who was stranded at her hotel, Stella Shimell from Bulawayo said she managed to fly back to her London base on Sunday. She had been stranded at the Hotel du Cadran Tour Effel following the seven co-ordinated attacks that left more than 125 people dead and more than 200 injured.
Stella told me she had gone to Paris for a weekend retreat and early Christmass shopping with a friend but their shopping excursion turned into a nightmare when they found themselves stranded inside her hotel after failing to get transport to airport.All public transport was grounded after the attacks as the city went into lockdown and state of emergency was decalred.
"I am happy to tell you that I will be flying out of Paris today," said Shimell who has lived in the UK for more than ten years. I also spoke to another Zimbabwean, Bheki Ndlovu who was relaxing at a coffee shop just opposite the Bataclan concert hall where an American band with a strange name Eagles of Death Metal was performing.
"I was still enjoying myself with a friend when we were interupted by gunfire and screams from the hall and we knew something bad was happening," said Bheki, an artist also from Bulawayo.
He said he and his friend ran for their dear lives during the shooting.He said he saw some concert goers trying to escape through the windows. Others managed to escape from the killers but some did not. By the time special police and army units stormed the hall, 87 people were already dead.
This latest terror attack on France will certainly play into the hands of those opposed to the influx of thousands of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Police in Paris say one of the attackers had a Syrian passport. According to the police eight attackers were killed seven of them suicide bombers.
One of the Zimbabweans who was stranded at her hotel, Stella Shimell from Bulawayo said she managed to fly back to her London base on Sunday. She had been stranded at the Hotel du Cadran Tour Effel following the seven co-ordinated attacks that left more than 125 people dead and more than 200 injured.
Stella told me she had gone to Paris for a weekend retreat and early Christmass shopping with a friend but their shopping excursion turned into a nightmare when they found themselves stranded inside her hotel after failing to get transport to airport.All public transport was grounded after the attacks as the city went into lockdown and state of emergency was decalred.
"I am happy to tell you that I will be flying out of Paris today," said Shimell who has lived in the UK for more than ten years. I also spoke to another Zimbabwean, Bheki Ndlovu who was relaxing at a coffee shop just opposite the Bataclan concert hall where an American band with a strange name Eagles of Death Metal was performing.
"I was still enjoying myself with a friend when we were interupted by gunfire and screams from the hall and we knew something bad was happening," said Bheki, an artist also from Bulawayo.
He said he and his friend ran for their dear lives during the shooting.He said he saw some concert goers trying to escape through the windows. Others managed to escape from the killers but some did not. By the time special police and army units stormed the hall, 87 people were already dead.
This latest terror attack on France will certainly play into the hands of those opposed to the influx of thousands of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Police in Paris say one of the attackers had a Syrian passport. According to the police eight attackers were killed seven of them suicide bombers.
Source - Thabo Kunene
