Brussels attack survivor Pauline Graystone, a British mother who was filmed cowering on the floor with her family amid the chaos of the explosions, recalled the horror of the deathly airport bombings. Her images have been used by media worldwide.
Express reports that Graystone, who has lived in Belgium for 20 years, is the mother who was caught in a chilling video huddling on the floor with her husband to protect their daughter in the aftermath of the Brussels airport attack, where dozens of people were killed and injured. She narrated that they were standing next to a check-in desk at Zaventem airport when they heard the first explosion.
Graystone said that she did not immediately recognize what the loud blast was, but her husband already thought that it was a bomb. She recalled dropping down and huddling with her husband and daughter as the second explosion ripped the building.
"We just dropped, we crouched down with my daughter who was with me too and we were just huddled there," Graystone spoke to BBC Radio 4's World At One, according to the Daily Mirror. "Suddenly there was another even louder bang that seemed even closer, right in front of us behind the check-in and that was when we really knew it was serious."
The British mother described the chaos as a "total confusion." She added that they stayed cowering on the floor while anticipating for the third bomb to explode. Instead of getting terrified, she said that she felt numb and kept her focus on her daughter.
"It was a case of keeping it together, keeping my daughter safe. She was really terrified and crying a lot," she disclosed.
Graystone said that she cannot recall anymore how long they stayed curling on the floor. After realizing that there was no third bomb, they immediately got up and ran.
An hour after the airport bomb explosions, a separate terror attack also took place at the Belgian capital's Maelbeek metro station. ISIS claimed responsibility for the coordinated deathly bombings.
