Outside, the sounds of the battle intensified. Extracting people from remote locations in the middle of a war that keeps moving is fiendishly difficult. We knew it would take hours and fully expected to spend the night in the workshop while the logistics were worked on. We ran inside and gathered together, while Martin and Dominique rang through to Sky staff members, signalling the start of a frantic effort to try to start to arrange a rescue for us. We were convinced the shooters would come to finish us off.Ī door opened, and three caretakers beckoned for us to come inside their workshop. We spotted a factory unit with an open gate and sprinted one at a time inside, looking for cover. Still in the firing line, we headed away from the car, using a concrete wall for cover. Martin said to me, it's a miracle any of us got out, let alone all five of us. It seemed like an eternity before he emerged over the barrier and jumped down towards us, followed by a hail of gunfire.Īt the bottom, we regrouped. He called out, and we shouted at him to come. He was actually being protected by the engine block - he knew that. The rounds were ploughing into the car every time he moved. My armour and helmet almost certainly saved me.īut Richie was still inside the car. I lost my balance and fell to the bottom, landing like a sack of potatoes, cutting my face. Richie says I then got out of the car and stood up, before jogging to the edge of the embankment and then started running.

I managed to put my helmet on, and was about to attempt my escape, when I stopped and reached back into a shelf in the door and retrieved my phones and my press card, unbelievably.

'I've been hit!' I shouted.īut what amazed me was that it didn't hurt that bad. I do recall wondering if my death was going to be painful.Īnd then I was hit in the lower back. Richie was shouting to me, but I can't really remember much. Image: Producer Dominique Van Heerden runs for cover

Graham ambushed at airport