Scottish Survivors Hid In Concert Hall Cellar
Two Scottish women who survived the Paris attacks hid in a cellar as terrorists killed concert-goers above them.
Friends Christine Tudhope and Mariesha Payne were trapped for three hours at the Bataclan concert hall where they heard gunfire, explosions and screams.
They ran for cover after seeing bullets hit the stage in front of them as they watched US band Eagles of Death Metal perform.
Ms Tudhope, 34, said she initially thought the gunfire was the sound of firecrackers, but then Ms Payne, 33, saw bullets hitting the stage.
She said the first round was fired off in quick succession, with some people wondering if it was part of the show.
Speaking to Sky News as they arrived from Paris at Edinburgh Airport, Ms Payne, from Perth, said: “A second round went off, most people ducked, but I just said run, just get out of here.
“In the confusion if we had gone left we would have instantly been out on to the street and probably the first people out of the building, but just confused we ran right and ended up being in room that we couldn't get out of.
“There were no exits but we found a door to the cellar, which we just ran into but then realised we were trapped and there was no way out of there.
“A few seconds later the door burst open and we just thought, they're coming, we are going to die.
“It was two other concert goers, we managed to barricade ourselves in, turn the lights out and we were then trapped there for the next three hours just having to listen to what was happening.''
The friends said they thought would never get out, and were “sitting there waiting to get shot'' as they listened to as many as 80 people being killed above them.
Although they did not think it at the time, they said being trapped in the cellar was “a blessing''.
“We later found out if we had gone left and into street they were shooting from the windows,'' Ms Payne said.