Voices of those who survived mass murder in Istanbul,

Witness says screams of panic drowned out shooter’s words and clubgoers walked over each other to escape hail of bullets

ISTANBUL // Survivors of the attack at the Reina nightclub where 39 people were killed during new year celebrations described the chaos and panic as people tried to escape the gunman.

Professional footballer Sefa Boydas said several people fainted after they heard gunshots, while some walked on top of one another to escape the club on the European side of the city.

Boydas said he had been in the club with two friends for about 10 minutes before he heard gunshots and a friend collapsed in shock.

“Just as we were settling down, by the door there was a lot of dust and smoke. Gunshots rang out. When those sounds were heard, many girls fainted.”

He said that people appeared to be crushed as they ran from the attacker.

“They say 35 to 40 died but it’s probably more because when I was walking, people were walking on top of people,” said Boydas, who plays for Istanbul club Beylerbeyi SK.

He tried to escape clutching his friend but on seeing her older sister faint, the footballer said his friend also passed out. He described the screams which he said drowned out anything said by the attacker.

“But even if there were shouting, you wouldn’t hear because the crowd’s screams were 100 times louder,” he said.

He said police officers arrived quickly but kept many people at the club for a long time as they investigated the attack.

Sinem Uyanik was at the club with her husband, who was wounded in the shooting. “Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top me,” she said outside Istanbul’s Sisli Etfal Hospital. “I had to lift several bodies from on top of me before I could get out. It was frightening.”

Her husband was not in a serious condition despite suffering three wounds. Mehmet Dag, 22, was passing by the club and saw the attacker shoot at a police officer and a bystander. He said the gunman then targeted security, shooting them before entering the club. “Once he went in, we don’t know what happened. There were gun sounds, and after two minutes the sound of an explosion.” Footage filmed by Mr Dag on his phone showed a police officer lying on the ground outside the club, and then a woman. Mr Dag told the woman, who was lying on the floor face down in a pool of blood, “My sister, you will get better.” He then called for an ambulance. Footage from his phone showed ambulances and the lights of an Istanbul bridge when the sound of gunfire rang out inside the club. Boydas said he had been apprehensive about going out on New Year’s Eve for the first time in his life after a string of attacks in Turkey last year. But while making plans with friends, his fears were dismissed.

“I was hesitant that there could be a fight, something might happen, a bomb. A friend said: ‘ It wouldn’t ever happen in a place like Reina’.

“I said actually the target is places like that. I felt something,” he said.

“I went after the new year began and it happened 10 minutes after I entered.”

‘ Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top me Sinem Uyanik survivor

Tragedy has returned to Istanbul yet again. In the small hours of the new year, a gunman entered the popular Reina nightclub on Istanbul’s Bosphorus coastline and opened fire on party goers. At least 39 people, including at least 15 foreigners, were killed. One of the most popular nightclubs in the city, Reina is included on many international to-do lists for the city. Given the diversity of the clientele, all indicators point to ISIL militants carrying out the early morning attack despite any official confirmation from the Turkish government.

2016 was an unbearably difficult year for Turkey. Last summer, the country was thrown into brief chaos after a coup attempt. The result has been profound for the economy as the Turkish lira has dropped significantly in value. On the foreign policy front, Turkey has had to rethink it position on Syria, leading to vocal protest at home. This is all not to mention the wave of attacks that have targeted civilians and specifically Turkey’s critical tourism industry.

In June, ISIL militants attacked the main international airport – one of the busiest in Europe – with a twin bomb and gun attack that left 41 people dead. Kurdish militants carried out a series of attacks across the country, most recently outside a football match in the centre of Istanbul, claiming 44 lives. And now 2017 has got off to a tragic start with an attack on the heart of Istanbul’s tourism industry.

As this paper recently argued, Turkey is on the front line in the war against extremism. Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, Turkey has been a critical transit point for militants fighting the regime of Bashar Al Assad. Many of those militants have established a foothold inside Turkey from which they are now striking against the state itself. This form of blowback, to borrow the term coined by the CIA, is hard to contain and control.

As we move into the new year, Turkey must rely on the help of its many allies in combating the threat of extremism. This will require cooperation in the form of monitoring and arresting militants in and around the country. As the Turkish leadership moves closer to Russia in crafting a solution for combating the ISIL threat in Syria, the dangers of attacks from militants already in Turkey will increase. While Ankara might want to face this threat alone, insisting that it knows the best way to achieve security, Turkey will not be able to defeat terrorism by itself. It is time for solidarity in the face of these threats.