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Chechens tried to save prisoners’ lives Yesterday the surviving hostages told of the horrors they experienced. This evening the first hostages were released from hospitals. They are apathetic and exhausted, but happy that they managed to survive alive. Russian security services did not allow anyone to communicate with the rescued hostages after Saturday morning’s assault. They knew that many could be seriously injured from poisoning by the gas. 26-year-old Oleg Zegonov said that inhaling the gas was “like drinking a ton of vodka.” 20-year-old student of Eugenia Yakoseva sat in the same place in the auditorium where the terrorists gathered the foreigners. “When the gas appeared in the theater, right away I noticed the acrid smell of this chemical substance,” she said. “I immediately knew what was going on. Everyone tried to cover their mouths with their clothing, but it didn’t help. It seemed to me that I passed out after only a few seconds. I remember I felt dizzy. I saw that people sitting in front of me had fainted. I was very scared, but it was impossible to run away. I decided that we were all going to die. The last thing I remember was the panic of the terrorists, and their screams: Turn off the air conditioners! Then the terrorists also began falling to the floor. My throat didn’t hurt at all. Not far from us sat some women that had explosives tied to their bodies. They also lost consciousness. I woke up later and felt dizzy. I was nauseous. I saw that commandos had come into the theater. I couldn’t stand up, and I felt real sick. One of them carried me on his shoulder. I had a hard time thinking, so it’s hard for me to remember everything that happened. I could only tell the police my name. Some say that the decision to use the gas may have led to some deaths, but it saved hundreds. I’m not sure it was the right decision.” Eugenia went to the theater with her mother Natalia, who also survived. She calmly talks about the 56-hour-long ordeal: “Nobody wanted to attract the terrorists’ attention, so we all tried to sit very quiet. In general, they treated us well enough. They only yelled when we started getting neurotic.” According to theater director Georgy Vasilyev, the band of Chechens under fanatic Movsar Barayev plainly tried to save the lives of their captives after ‘Alfa’ began the assault. “When the shooting started, the gunmen told us to get our heads down and hide under the seats,” said Vasilyev. “But then everybody fell asleep. The militants sat back with their heads lolling and their mouths wide open. Shots rang out, and the room started filling with gas. I saw a terrorist sitting on stage jump up and try to put on a gas mask. He tried desperately to get the mask on his face, then he fell down.” Some of the militants tried to reassure their captives. Oleg Zegonov said: “Among them was a young Chechen who didn’t wear a mask. He spoke to the hostages and tried to reassure them. The older Chechen women who were 40 or 50 years old also assured us that everything would be okay.” |
