“We were bombed five times”: survivor of Egypt attack

By Amanda Figueras

From her bed at Dar Al Fouad hospital in Cairo, Susana Calderón, one of the six survivors of Egypt's attack against tourists after mistaking them for terrorists, recalled the details of what was supposed to be a day in an oasis and ended up being one day in hell.

“We were bombed five times from the air. The attack lasted three hours,” she explained.“The place has very beautiful landscapes, but nothing else. There is nowhere to hide or run. I do not understand why this happened,” Calderón added.

She recalled that one of the drivers, the son of the trip's organizer and a policeman dressed as civilian died after the first attack. She says that they Egyptian drivers called someone immediately after, and she thinks that was the reason for which ambulances eventually arrived at the place.

Her husband, Luis Barajas Fernández, with whom she had been married for 20 years, is one of the eight Mexicans that died in the attack. They were planning to visit France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy after Egypt.

“We planned this trip together. It was the trip of our lives,” she said.

Calderón underwent surgery on her left arm, and her right arm is full of blisters. Her right leg is paralyzed, though doctors say that she will recover mobility with time.

Egypt's Ministry of Interior has said that the tourists were in a forbidden area while the Army was chasing terrorists that traveled in vehicles similar to those used by the tourists. Also, a spokesman of the Ministry of Tourism said that the group did not have permission to be in the place.

However, the Egyptian Association of Tourist Guides said that the company had all the required permissions, and the organizers of the tour, Windows of Egypt, published the document informing the tourist police about the excursion.

However, the document stated that ten tourists would travel by car, while authorities say that the attacked convoy had four cars and 22 people. Authorities also argue that the organizers of the excursion did not inform that they would have lunch in the desert, and sources of Windows of Egypt have said that the activity was not under their responsibility.

The six survivors left the hospital today to return to Mexico accompanied by Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu.