SOUSSE, Tunisia — Tunisia's postcard destination for tourists is reeling from the terror that blighted another day of play at the Mediterranean seaside resort of Sousse.
A man armed with a Kalashnikov and grenades gunned down tourists on a private beach, then moved methodically through the grounds of a luxury hotel — to the swimming pool, reception area and offices.
At least 38 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in the deadly noon rampage Friday by a young Tunisian disguised as a tourist ready for fun in the sun.
From accounts of the attack by shocked survivors, tourists who stayed on, lifeguards and beach employees who helped at the site of the massacre emerge stories of love and horror.
No one grasped what was happening at first in what became Tunisia's worst terrorist attack. Were the popping sounds and explosions fireworks for yet another celebration?
On Saturday, the private beach of the 370-room Imperial Marhaba Hotel was immaculate with chairs lined up under straw umbrellas — and police tape sealing it off. Only the emptiness and an overturned lounge chair with flowers accumulating hinted at the horror. “Why? Warum?” read a note on one bouquet. “Warum” is German for “why.” Sousse is a popular destination for Germans and at least one German was killed in the attack.
Some people cried as they placed their offerings.
Then there are the horrific recollections of the living — many of whom quickly fled Sousse.
Sudden terror
Tony Callaghan of Norfolk, England, was near the pool about midday when he heard what many others thought were fireworks. With his 23 years in the Royal Air Force, Callaghan knew better.
“I knew it was gunfire. ... The hotel was being attacked.”
Callaghan, 63, suffered a gunshot to his leg and his wife, Christine, 62, had her femur shattered. Both were among those being treated at Sahloul Hospital, the largest in Sousse.
Along with what he said were some 40 people, they had taken refuge in the hotel's administrative offices, not far from the reception area. They climbed to the first floor, “but then we were trapped.” Callaghan said he told people to hide because the gunman was following “and shooting coming up the stairs.”
His wife stumbled in the corridor and “was screaming ‘Help me! Help me!' ” Callaghan said shortly before heading for surgery. Another woman had been shot four times, he said, and “was lying in a pool of blood.”
The gunfire appeared endless. For Callaghan, it lasted about 40 minutes. “It was, like, incessant.”
But no one really counted as they looked to save their lives. Some others suggested it lasted about 20 minutes.
Meticulous approach
The attacker “took time to go to the beach, to the pool, the reception, the administration, climbing the stairs,” said Imen Belfekih, an employee for seven years at the hotel. She was among those hiding in the administration offices, along with a fellow employee, who was wounded in the attack.
Belfekih said the attacker threw a grenade as he climbed the stairs to the rooms where the group was hiding, apparently following the screams of fear. Her colleague was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.
“We saw only black. It was smoky. Everyone was hiding in offices. ... I hid under a desk,” she said.
A police officer who was called to the scene told The Associated Press that the gunman threw three grenades — but one failed to explode. He wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the case and asked not to be identified by name.
Belfekih said she was on the beach when she first heard the gunfire. She and her wounded friend only left their hideout “when we heard silence.”
The varying accounts of the ordeal made it difficult to understand exactly where the gunman was killed by police. However, he apparently went back downstairs to make an escape. Several accounts put the location outside. And no one who spoke with the AP could clearly describe him.
“I never saw him because we were running for our lives,” Callaghan said.
The hotel manager, Mohamed Becheur, said he had no details about the tragedy that befell his establishment, arriving later when notified of the attack.
He has not officially closed the hotel, though concedes that everyone will shortly be gone.
