MEMBERS of London’s Turkish speaking community were among those caught up in last Thursday’s terrorist attacks on London which killed more than fifty people and injured hundreds.
Hope is fading for Turkish student Gamze Günoral, who went missing after the horrifying blasts. The 24-year-old was on her way to an English language school in Hammersmith and was believed to have changed trains at King’s Cross station, where one of the explosions happened. She has not been heard from since although her family are still hopeful that she will be found.
Another language student from Turkey, Okan Burak, is recovering in hospital after surviving the Piccadilly line blast. The 26-year-old was hit with flying glass.
Others have also spoken of their harrowing ordeals on the same train. Cyprus Turkish Airlines employees Kemal Kuyucuoğlu Kenan (47) and Erol Revan (51) described how they escaped to safety from the smoke-filled train.
Mustafa Kurtuldu (24), whose surname means “saved”, was one of the survivors at the Aldgate train blast. He told how the train seemed to ‘lift off the rails’ when the bomb went off.
Mustafa Kurtuldu (24) from Hackney said: “The train seemed to almost lift up off the rails. It sounded like an impact. It went white and there were flames outside the train, but they died down quickly.
“I was in the next carriage from where the actual thing happened. The train almost like lifted up. After about like 10 minutes some guys came, I think they must have been London underground guys, and they were walking along the track.
“The explosion happened at about five to nine and by the time we got out it was about half past nine.”
In context: Nearly ten days after the bombings, Game Günoral’s body was identified in a London hospital.