CHENNAI: A pleasure trip to Europe turned into a nightmare for a young chartered accountant from Bengaluru on the last day, as panic gripped the French capital Paris, following the series of terror attacks. Paris was the epicentre of attacks at six different sites for which ISIS has staked its claim.
Srinivas, a financial analyst with an MNC in Bengaluru, went on a Europe tour along with his friends earlier this month. The last leg of the vacation entailed a trip back to Paris, after a visit to Rome. Little did they guess that the last day of the trip would coincide with the deadliest terror attack on the French capital, which resulted in a major lockdown of Paris and collective global outrage.
After touring Rome, Srinivas and his friends arrived back in Paris on Friday night. He recounts arriving in Paris at around 10:30 pm (Paris local time). It was supposed to be the last day of the holiday for them. By the time Srinivas and his friends got their luggage, a friend had texted him, informing them about the terror attacks.
Srinivas and his group’s original plan, as told by him, via WhatsApp text messages from Charles de Gaulle Airport, was to experience living in the “famous backpacking hostels” in Paris.
“We were thinking of taking a bus or metro till Paris city,” he said. But eventually they ended up taking a cab. By that time the entire city was gripped by fear and police had tightened security and “traffic movement was restricted”, he said. Eventually they managed to a get a room at around 2:15 am (Paris local time). It was only after they switched on the hotel room television, did they get a real picture and grasped the intensity of the attacks.