News
Woman of Sri Lankan origin among Brit victims in Tunisia massacre
One of the survivors in the Friday June 26 terrorist attack in Tunisia that claimed 38 lives is a British national of Sri Lankan Burgher origin.
Gina van Dort, 30 years, and her husband Chris Dyer, 32, were among the holiday-makers who were relaxing on the beach outside the Imperial Marhaba hotel in the resort Sousse when a lone gunman turned an AK47 on the tourists, killing 38 persons and injuring dozens. When the shooting began, Gina and Chris ran into the hotel garden, but were mowed down by bullets.Chris Dyer was killed instantly, and Mrs. van Dort was critically injured. They were among the British victims. Thirty Britons were killed in the attack.
Mrs. Van Dort’s plight triggered wide media coverage. It was reported that she was found embracing her dead husband’s bullet-riddled body, while bleeding heavily herself from gunshot wounds. One bullet had shattered her right thigh bone, another had entered her face and destroyed her left eye on exit; she was temporarily unable to talk.
“She didn’t want to leave him,” said witness Dr Hajer Kraiem, who had rushed to Mrs. van Dort’s aid. “When we tried to bring her [to the ambulance] she held tighter. Maybe she didn’t know he was dead.”
The first thing Mrs. van Dort did on regaining consciousness, at Sahloul Hospital, was to write a note to the doctors asking for the return of her wedding ring, which had been removed during emergency surgery.
A five-hour operation was conducted on Mrs. van Dort by a medical team of orthopaedic surgeons, cardiovascular specialists, a maxillofacial surgeon, and an ophthalmologist.
Mrs. van Dort and the other wounded Britons were rushed to hospitals in the UK for further treatment.
Mrs. van Dort is a surveyor, and her late husband an engineer. The couple had married in June last year. They had bought a new house in Watford and Mr. Dyer had started a new company.
Two hours before he was killed, Chris Dyer had sent a friend an Instagram saying it was “nice and relaxing” where they were. They had been two weeks into their holiday.
Families of Burgher origin form a part of the large Sri Lankan community living in Britain.
(Compiled from sources)