Brit noticed ‘blood streaming’ down path as she hid throughout Bondi Beach terror assaults
Miya Lind, who lives in Sydney, fled from the gunmen after they heard what sounded like “pops” going off as they walked toward the famous beach
A British woman has told how she saw blood “streaming” down a path as she hid from the Bondi Beach gunmen.
Miya Lind, who lives in Sydney, escaped the attack at a Jewish festival last Sunday which left 15 people dead. Ms Lind, from West Lothian, Scotland was walking over a bridge with friends on see the sunset at the beach when the attack began.
She said they heard “pops” going off which she initially thought were firecrackers but realised the danger and started running.
Ms Lind, a 26-year-old model and digital creator, said she thought she was going to die as she ran to the end of the beach and took shelter in an alleyway.
She said: “We didn’t know how many people there were. We didn’t know if there was more waiting at the top of the hill.
“At some point, we were hiding behind an ice cream truck.
“I thought I was going to pass out, and I’d looked to my left and there was just blood streaming down the path next to me.
“I think that’s when it sank in, because we sort of presumed that it was gunshots that we were running from but I think once we had seen the blood, that kind of really just confirmed what had happened.”
Ms Lind said it was “absolutely heartbreaking” seeing the devastation after the attack.
She also told how she risked her life to retrieve her mobile phone which she had dropped during the frenzy, so she could say goodbye to her family.
Ms Lind said: “I realised I dropped my phone, and stupidly I kind of stuck my head out and ran a little bit ahead to go back and retrieve it.
“It was in close enough proximity but just for me, I just thought, you know what, I feel like this is it, I had really accepted that that was the end.
“I thought there’s no way I’m leaving this Earth and not getting to say goodbye to my family.”
Two gunmen opened fire at the famous Sydney beach, killing 15 people, including 10-year-old Matilda Poltavchenko, whose funeral was held today.
Mourners bearing bright bouquets and clutching each other in grief gathered in Sydney‘s Chevra Kadisha Memorial Hall, a Jewish funeral home responsible for customary burial rites.
Others held balloons emblazoned with pictures of bumblebees, a reference to the young girl’s nickname “Matilda Bee”.
The gunmen, a father and son, were inspired by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation, Australian authorities have said.
Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot dead by cops at the scene, and his 24-year-old son Naveed carried out the worst mass shooting in Australia’s recent history.
Naveed was critically injured in the shootout with cops but has since been recovering.
He has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act, after waking from a coma on Tuesday.
