KUNDLE Kundle couple David and Jackie Burley were leaving Istanbul airport this week when suicide bombers struck in a deadly attack that left at least 41 people dead.
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Istanbul was the final leg of a five week holiday the Burleys have been planning for several years to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
Jackie takes up the story: “Our flight arrived at around 8.30pm and we collected our luggage and headed through passport security. We were met by a local representative for our transfer and he informed that our car had been held up due to major traffic congestion.
“He took us to a place to sit and wait. We were led to some seating about 20 metres away from the entrance to the international arrivals terminal. We waited for around 40 minutes, sitting and people watching. We noted the vast differences in the people around the terminal, from young women travelling alone in trendy clothing to groups of women in full Muslim clothing.
“Finally our man collected us and led us through the front doors out to where the taxi’s line up. We stood waiting for our transfer vehicle for about 10 minutes and laughed at the chaotic shuffling of the yellow cabs. A van pulled up and we loaded our bags in and gratefully climbed in, saying goodbye to our helper.
“We had travelled maybe 20 metres from the front doors when the van was shaken by a shocking booming noise. It sounded like small debris, maybe broken glass were raining down onto the van. Our driver reflexively accelerated away, motioning us to duck down. Terrified, we slipped down onto the floor of the van. We were waved through the airport security exit point, with our driver yelling information to the guard on the way out.
“On the way to the hotel, we heard our driver on the phone saying “bombe, bombe!”. He then in stilted English tried to tell us what had happened, saying “terror”, “bombe”, and indicating two, confirming that he believed that there had been two bombs detonated at the airport. He stopped the van, and after confirming we were okay, he inspected his vehicle for damage.
“We were concerned about the wellbeing of the man who had assisted us at the airport, but the language barrier made it impossible to determine if he was okay. It seemed the vehicle was fine, so the driver took us to our hotel.
“On arrival we contacted family using social media to let them know we were safe, then watched in horror as the news reports explained what had happened and escalated from ‘possible casualties’ to fatalities and a large injury toll.’’
The Burleys are still shaken at their close call but will continue their holiday as planned. “We chose Istanbul for several reasons, however a tour to Gallipoli (planned for Thursday) to pay our respects was at the forefront of our decision. At this stage it is our intention to continue our holiday as planned.’’