Johannesburg - “There was a loud boom, a lot of dust and smoke and debris were coming from the border security checkpoint.
“Nobody knew what was happening.”
This is how 29-year-old South African Jacobus van Heerden described to The Star the chaotic scene of Tuesday night’s triple suicide bombing at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, the biggest in Turkey.
At least 42 people were killed and more than 230 wounded in the attack.
After having supper at the airport while waiting to catch his flight to Madrid, Spain, Van Heerden made it to an area where “I figured I would get some rest at the far end of the terminal”.
“Suddenly, in between the two border checkpoints, everybody started running away from there, and that’s when the bomb went off.
“The security kept everyone away from the area. We were safe where we were,” he said.
After the attack, Van Heerden, who said he was strangely calm during the ordeal, made his way to the furthest point in the terminal in a bid to get away from the danger zone.
“I waited there for an hour or more until security came, and we were requested to leave the airport. We were loaded into buses, with the idea to send us to hotels.
“Again, there was confusion. No one knew what was going on or what were the arrangements. Eventually the driver indicated that we must get off at the Istanbul Square. This was around 2am (on Wednesday),” he said.
Also read: SA couple in Turkey: ‘We thought we were going to die’
Through all the confusion, Van Heerden said he found himself playing with his soccer ball in the middle of Istanbul Square.
“Another South African, a teenager, asked if he could join me. It was all surreal.”
In the end he and the fellow South African shared a room at a hotel. Van Heerden then returned to the airport on Wednesday morning to finally catch his flight to Madrid.
“This morning (Wednesday) everything was back to normal, with the exception that a majority of flights were cancelled and passengers had to queue at their respective airline counters. Several South Africans struggled to get return flights,” he said.
After making his way through several queues, Van Heerden finally boarded his flight to Madrid. “I think I got the last one as other passengers behind me didn’t get in.”
Van Heerden, who resides in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, was in Turkey for a 22-hour stopover before flying to Bogota, Colombia, via Turkey and Spain.
Flight Centre spokeswoman Sharmila Ragunanan confirmed that all their customers in Turkey were accounted for and safe following the attack. She urged all South Africans travelling in Turkey to “remain extremely vigilant”.
In a statement on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma said: “South Africa shares in the grief of the Turkish people and the international community following the substantial loss of life and wishes the injured survivors a speedy recovery.
“Terrorism in any form and from whichever quarter cannot be condoned.”
No South Africans were harmed in the attacks, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation confirmed.
@Lanc_02
The Star