Survivors recall Tunisia terror attacks 10 years on
On 25 June 2015, a gunman shot dead 38 people, including 30 Britons, in a Tunisian holiday resort.Seifeddine Rezgui, a Tunisian student, opened fire on tourists staying in Port El Kantaoui, just north of Sousse, in an attack for which the jihadist group Islamic State claimed responsibility.Rezgui was shot dead by police shortly afterwards but his actions shocked the world and changed lives for ever.Ten years on, survivors of the massacre have been recalling their horrific experiences and reflecting on how it changed their lives.
'I actually say I was saved for two reasons'
Holidaymakers Christine and Stuart Cullen, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, were caught up in the attack.Mrs Cullen remembers it clearly."He [Rezgui] threw a bomb with nails and things and then I looked up and I saw Stuart and, unfortunately, a piece of metal from the bomb had severed his artery. He bled out in my hands."Mr Cullen was killed. Already hit by shrapnel, Mrs Cullen thought she was going to be next.
"He [Rezgui] came up to me, probably only a few feet away, pointed and shot. so I threw myself back and thought this was it."Then I suddenly realised that actually I hadn't been hit... then I played dead and watched him go off."I shouldn't be here - I don't know how I'm here, but I shouldn't be here. At the inquest, there were two statements that say they saw him shoot me. "I actually say I was saved for two reasons: to plan my daughter's wedding and look after my grandchildren."She says the attack has given her a new outlook on life."If anything, I live in the moment more now. I am more appreciative of things now, and if there's an opportunity to go and do something I haven't done before, why not? You feel a bit invincible, really."
'When I got the call, I just knew I'd lost one of them'
Mrs and Mrs Cullen's daughter, Emma-Jayne Herbert, was at home in Lowestoft at the time of the attack. "When I got the call - it was off a family member - I just knew I'd lost one of them, and I had a feeling it was Dad," she says.A decade on, she is now expecting her first child - and her parents' first grandchild - two years after her mum gave her away at her wedding.
And although her dad was not physically there, she says she felt his presence."There was this rain that came over that almost felt like maybe his tears, and then it just washed away after 10 minutes."The wedding started a little bit late and the sunshine just beamed out as I was coming down the aisle, and it just felt like 'Yeah, that's my dad.'"They are holding a family festival in her dad's memory at The Plough, Blundeston, on Saturday in aid of Nelson's Journey, a charity that supports bereaved children."He'd be very proud that we're not just sitting in a hole in darkness, that we are coming together with others in our family and... remembering the good and being positive. He would definitely be very happy and proud with that."
'The worst day of my life and a living nightmare'
Allison and Phil Heathcote, from Felixstowe, Suffolk, had been in Tunisia, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.Mrs Heathcote describes the day of the attacks as "the worst day of my life, and a living nightmare".She says: "I would say, probably within about five minutes of it starting, we'd both been shot."I tried to see if Phil was alive but he wasn't responding and there were just people all around you, dead."
With the gunman on the rampage, she laid still in the sand, despite having been shot five times."Most of my injuries were in my right arm; also my stomach. I've got another one just underneath the breast there and I've also still got another bullet still in me."Mr Heathcote, a cricket lover, was killed in the attack and a memorial match in his honour is being held at Felixstowe and Corinthians Cricket Club on 10 August.It will raise money for Fisher House, which provided accommodation for Mrs Heathcote's family while she was in hospital in Birmingham after the attack.Despite her horrific experiences, she considers herself lucky."I've still got my son, and he means the world to me, and I've still got the rest of my family," she says."I didn't want die. I'm glad I'm still here, but I wish [my husband] was here, too."
'You really did think that was your last day'
Andy and Nicki Duffield, from Watton, Norfolk, were in Tunisia to celebrate Mr Duffield's birthday.They took refuge in a gardener's shed while the attacks took place."I hid behind a door with an aerosol spray and a pair of garden shears," he recalls."I thought, 'If someone's coming through that door, at least I'm going to go with a fight.' You know, we survived it but a lot of people didn't."Yeah, we were lucky. A lot of nice people lost their lives there that day."Mrs Duffield remembers running and hiding for her life."The terror, the fear - you really did think that was your last day," she says.She credits her husband with saving her life by encouraging her to keep running and by asking the gardeners to hide them in their shed."We knew that the gunfire was getting closer and closer. Andy was shouting at me to keep running, and at one point I told him to just go and to leave me and he wouldn't."The couple are defiant and say they will not let their experiences stop them from continuing to holiday abroad."If it wasn't for my husband, I wouldn't be here. It's changed my life completely," says Mrs Duffield.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Horror in paradise: How an Islamist extremist savagely gunned down 30 Brits on a Tunisian beach in less than 30 minutes - as their families continue to mourn 10 years on
The Riu Imperial Marhaba in Tunisia was supposed to be an idyllic retreat - where Brits soaked up the tropical heat from white plastic sunbeds with cold beers in hand. But on June 26 2015 - ten years ago today - the tranquil seaside resort would become a nightmare as an Islamic terrorist systematically gunned down innocent holidaymakers on his way through the grounds. After just 21 minutes and 38 seconds 38 people would lie dead in a horrific killing spree that left the world reeling. 30 of those killed by 23-year-old gunman Seifeddine Rezgui were British. Rezgui - who hid his AK-47 assault rifle concealed in a parasol - began his horror attack by shooting at sunbathers on the beach. The young Tunisian, who had trained with Islamic militants in neighbouring Libya, then worked his way on to the hotel pool before throwing a grenade into the five-star hotel. In the hotel reception area, he let off grenades, killing one of his youngest victims, Carly Lovett, who was just 24. The 23-year-old also claimed the lives of three victims from one Midlands family - Joel Richards, 19, his uncle Adrian Evans, 44, and his grandfather Patrick, 78. Rezgui - who was high on cocaine at the time - was shot dead by police after carrying out the attack, for which terror group Islamic State claimed responsibility. After his death, police said he could have killed many more. An unexploded bomb was found on his person - with the detonator just inches away from his body. Rezgui's family say he was brainwashed while studying for a master's degree in Kairouan, 35 miles inland from Sousse. After holding inquests into the British deaths in January and February 2017, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith concluded that the response of Tunisian police was 'at best shambolic, at worst cowardly'. He said hotel guards were not armed and had no walkie-talkies. Scenes of bravery on the day saw locals attempting to stop Rezgui by throwing roof tiles, and teenagers defying their own injuries to hide and help those most in need. Among those who later faced trial were six security personnel accused of failing to provide assistance to people in danger during the Sousse attack. Six policemen were also among the defendants, charged with potentially criminal negligence and delay. Families battling for justice only receiving a settlement from travel firm Tui in 2022. In 2019 seven jihadists involved in the attacks at a museum in Tunis and on the beach in Sousse were handed life sentences. The closely linked shootings, which occurred just months apart in Tunis and Sousse, saw dozens of defendants go on trial, with many acquitted. Four were sentenced to life in prison for the shooting rampage at a Sousse tourist resort in June 2015, which killed 38 people, mostly British tourists. Five other defendants in the Sousse case were handed jail terms ranging from six months to six years, while 17 were acquitted, prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti said. Three were given life sentences for the earlier attack in March 2015 at the capital's Bardo National Museum, in which two gunmen killed 21 foreign tourists and a Tunisian security guard. Others found guilty of links to the Bardo attack were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to 16 years, and a dozen defendants were acquitted. THE 30 BRITONS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE BEACH MASSACRE In all, 30 Britons were killed in the Tunisian beach massacre, along with three Irish citizens. One British tourist was shot dead in an earlier attack on the country's national museum. They were: British tourist Sally Adey, 57, from Shropshire, was among 22 people killed as ISIS terrorists opened fire at the Bardo National Museum in the capital Tunis in March 2015 Joel Richards, 19, a student at the University of Worcester and a talented football referee, believed to be the youngest of the British victims in the Sousse attack in June 2015; his uncle Adrian Evans, a manager at Sandwell Council in the West Midlands; and his grandfather Charles 'Patrick' Evans, 78 Former plumber John Welch, 74, and his partner Eileen Swannack, 73, from Wiltshire. The couple, who had been together for eight years, were staying at the RIU Imperial Marhaba, a hotel they 'adored' and stayed in every year of their relationship Christopher Bell, 59, and his 54-year-old wife Sharon, from Leeds John Stollery, 58, a social worker from Nottinghamshire. He was on holiday with his wife Cheryl and son. He worked with children in care at Nottinghamshire County Council, and his wife said 'he made a difference and gave his best to others' Retired scientist David Thompson, 80, from Tadley, Hampshire. It is understood he used to work for the Atomic Weapons Establishment and was a keen walker Chris Dyer, 32, an engineer who practised jiu-jitsu, from Watford. He was on holiday with his wife Gina Van Dort when he was shot. She clung on to her dead husband's hand as paramedics tried to get her to safety, according to reports Trudy Jones, 51, a divorced single mother-of-four from Gwent, South Wales. Described by her family as 'a caring person who put everyone else before herself', she had been holidaying with friends when she was killed Bruce Wilkinson, 72, a grandfather who was said to be a retired power station worker from Goole, East Yorkshire. He was described by his family as a 'kind and compassionate man' Lisa Burbidge, 66, a grandmother-of-four from Whickham, Gateshead. Her family said she doted on her grandchildren and described her as the 'most beautiful, amazing, caring and gentle person in our lives' Carly Lovett, 24, from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. The fashion blogger, who was on holiday with her fiance Liam, reportedly survived the massacre on the beach only to die when a grenade was thrown into her hotel Former Birmingham City football player Denis Thwaites, 70, and his wife Elaine, 69, who lived in Blackpool. They had arrived at the resort two days before the attack. Mr Thwaites, a hospital porter, played for Birmingham City from 1962 to 1972 while his wife worked in hospitality Philip Heathcote, 52, from Felixstowe, Suffolk. His wife Allison, 48, was seriously injured in the attack. The couple had been celebrating their 30th anniversary when they were caught up in the atrocity Engineer Stephen Mellor, 59, from Bodmin in Cornwall. He was killed as he shielded his wife Cheryl on the beach Sue Davey, 43, from Staffordshire, and her partner Scott Chalkley, from Derby. The couple worked for Severn Trent Water, who described them as passionate and hugely caring Claire Windass, 54, from Hull. She was killed while her husband Jim survived the attack Jim and Ann McQuire, aged 66 and 63, from Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. Mr McQuire was a captain in the Boys' Brigade, a Christian youth organisation, which said it was 'shocked and deeply saddened' by his death Stuart Cullen, 52, from Lowestoft in Suffolk. He is believed to have died instantly. His wife was injured but survived Billy and Lisa Graham, from Bankfoot near Perth in Scotland. The couple were on a trip to the tourist resort of Sousse to celebrate Mrs Graham's 50th birthday Retired printer John Stocker, 74, and his wife Janet, 63, from Morden, Surrey. Their family said the pair 'were the happiest, most loving couple' Ray and Angela Fisher, believed to be aged 75 and 69, from Leicester. Their son Adam, from Redhill in Surrey, had not spoken to his parents since they left for their holiday The Irish victims were: Lorna Carty, a mother-of-two from Robinstown, Co Meath. Bishop of Meath Michael Smith said Mrs Carty was the victim of a 'senseless killing' Husband and wife Laurence and Martina Hayes, both in their 50s, from Athlone in Co Westmeath. Mr Hayes was a schools transport inspector who had worked for Bus Eireann for the last 20 years.
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
A decade on from the Sousse massacre, Tunisia deserves a second chance
It was an incident, so sudden and shocking, that you can probably remember where you were when you saw or read the newsflash. June 26 2015, exactly 10 years ago today. The afternoon when death stalked the Mediterranean shore below a bright North African sky. Even if you cannot recall your exact whereabouts on that awful Friday, you will surely recall what happened. At around noon, having mingled with holidaymakers on the sand at the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel – in the Port El Kantaoui tourist area, just outside the Tunisian city of Sousse – Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi pulled a concealed assault rifle from a beach umbrella, and opened fire. By the time he was himself killed by hotel security, having headed into the property on a hunt for further targets, he had murdered 38 people. The attack has a particular and lingering resonance in this country – because 30 of those 38 victims were British. Sun-seekers from Wolverhampton and Blackpool, from Wiltshire and Cornwall, from Suffolk and Leicester, from Tyne and Wear, Yorkshire and Perthshire. A decade later, its echoes continue to ring out. Take a glance at the aviation route map, and you will notice a gap – no airline, British or otherwise, currently flies directly from the UK to Monastir Habib Bourguiba International, the main airport serving the Sousse area. Tui, the tour operator with whom many of the 2015 deceased had been travelling, now suggests nine resort options in what is Tunisia's third biggest city – but none of them is the former Riu Imperial Marhaba, which changed its name to 'Kantaoui Bay' in 2017. Nor has British outbound tourism to Tunisia entirely recovered. Half a million UK holidaymakers flew to the country in 2014, before the atrocity. And while the number for 2024 was greater than the inevitable statistic of zero, tallied in the two years after the attack – when the Foreign Office had issued a strict warning against British citizens visiting Tunisia – it still amounts to barely more than half the high tide-mark recorded 11 years ago. In total, around 278,000 of us holidayed in North Africa's smallest country last year, a small rise on the 239,000 of 2023. In other words, Yacoubi's radicalised brutality, allied to the twisted vision of Islamic State, achieved some of its aims: to smear Tunisia's image as a reliable destination for Western holidaymakers, and to cause significant damage to a tourism industry which accounts for about 10 per cent of the country's GDP – as well as more than 400,000 jobs. The events of that June lunchtime were a tragedy on several levels. I have been to Tunisia twice since, and have only ever encountered a country which feels welcoming, friendly and – above all – safe. I also found – on my first trip, in the autumn of 2017, when the Foreign Office advice against visiting the country had just been lifted – a place straining under a set of debilitating after-effects. The restaurants in Sousse were all but empty in what should have been the October end-of-season rush. The vendors in the souk were desperate, starting the haggling process on any item that I examined at so meagre a figure – and so dispiritedly – that it was impossible to feel anything but pity. It is easy to absorb the horror of a terrorist attack, then swipe a black mark of damnation across the entire country (and the many people who live there) in question. Indeed, such a reaction is one of the key ambitions of such assaults. But to eliminate Tunisia from future travel plans on the basis of headlines made a decade ago is both unnecessary and unfair. There have been atrocities in several holiday hotspots since June 2015: in the Maldives, in Sri Lanka, in Kenya, in Istanbul, in Barcelona, in Paris, in London. Yes, there is good reason as to why the Sousse killings are so ingrained in the British national consciousness, but Tunisia is not a lone outlier. Of course, there are plenty of holidaymakers who have chosen to move on from that dreadful day. As stated above, there were 278,000 British holidaymakers on Tunisian soil in 2024, the majority of whom flew in for a packaged week of seafront relaxation. While Sousse remains – understandably – a tricky proposition to sell to the British market, there are several alternative possibilities along Tunisia's 713 miles of Mediterranean coastline. If all you want of a holiday is a chance to curl up with a book on a sun-lounger, the resort-hotels of Hammamet, Monastir, Skanes and Mahdia will prove a suitable context. Equally, if you want to peer beyond the beach, Tunisia rewards exploration. Its Roman sites – not least the remarkable amphitheatre of El Djem, a close cousin of the Colosseum – are among the most spectacular in North Africa. The Berber settlements of the south-east, meanwhile (including the much-cherished Star Wars filming location that is Tataouine), offer another perspective on the country – one of red desert and dusty drama. Moreover, there are quiet signs that Tunisia's tourism arc is curving gently upwards. Back in November, easyJet launched a pair of direct flights (from Luton and Manchester) to Djerba – the island which, though it is North Africa's biggest, has generally gone unnoticed by British tourists (in contrast to the French and German holidaymakers who have long appreciated its charms). There are further beach hotels here, but also kernels of local life – including the 'capital' Houmt Souk, where (as its name suggests) there are streets and passages filled with small shops, delicate trinkets, and those pleasing aromas of cardamon and cloves. A decade on from disaster, Tunisia deserves a closer inspection.
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'I saw hotel terror attack aftermath firsthand - bravery shone amid bloodshed'
The sunbeds were still spattered with blood on Sousse beach when we arrived to witness the aftermath of the attack. There were paperbacks strewn across the sand where victims fell as a Jihadist gunman pulled out his Kalashnikov. Extremist Seifeddine Rezgui, a 22-year-old electrical engineering student, had massacred 38 tourists 10 years ago today in an attack on a beach outside the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel complex. Sunglasses and sun cream had been left among the personal belongings dropped by tourists fleeing for their lives. Amid the carnage, there was extraordinary bravery. Eyewitnesses told how hotel staff and sunbathers formed a 'human shield' around Brits and foreign tourists in a desperate bid to save them. A bar manager at the Belle Vue hotel, next door to the Imperial Marhaba, told how ordinary Tunisian people had tried to save people in the line of fire. The man, who would give his name only as Houssem, added: 'I was shouting at people 'run, run'. The gunman was laughing as he was shooting, when he had finished and he had killed everyone, he did not care, he did not try to run. 'He threw a mobile phone into the sea, he took it apart, then he came up here step by step and he was smiling, he was happy about what he wanted to do. Everyone was scared, but we did everything we could to stop him.' Brit John Yeoman, from Kettering, posted a photo of Belle Vue staff forming a human shield. He said: "Staff were in a line and they were shouting at him, saying 'we won't let you through'. They shouted: 'You'll have to go through us'. That's why he's got his back turned to them. He tried to get to my hotel and they stood up to him." Young and old, parents and grandparents, a beautician, a nurse, a council worker were all slain by the laughing gunman. Yet Rezgui's family claimed he was a football-loving, typical teenager before he was radicalised on-line by IS, and groomed for murder. His uncle revealed: "We didn't know where he was going, and there were no goodbyes. The entire family is shocked at the hidden reality of what he was capable of." But the killer posted before the massacre: "If love of jihad is a crime the whole world can witness that I am a criminal."
