Couple miss Turkey blasts by hours

An Ongerup man and his girlfriend were due to fly out from Turkey’s biggest airport just hours after three suicide bombers launched their attack killing dozens and wounding more than 150 people.

Beau Vaux, a former Great Southern Grammar student, and girlfriend Stephanie Sinclair from Perth, were due to fly to Slovenia from Ataturk airport when the explosions occurred.

The couple have since been left stranded with their flights cancelled after 10 days travelling in Turkey.

Speaking to theAlbany Advertiser yesterday, Mr Vaux, 25, said they were returning to their hotel from dinner when their taxi driver told them of the terrorist attack.

He told family and friends they were safe, posting on Facebook on Tuesday night just hours after the attack.

“We ran back to our hotel to check the news and at that stage it had only just happened,” he said.

“We are still trying to figure out what is going on and how we are going to get out of the country as we were supposed to fly to Slovenia in a few hours from Ataturk airport.

“We have been here for two weeks and haven't felt unsafe at all.

“There is a massive police presence on the street everywhere you go.”

Ms Sinclair, 24, said they were due to arrive at the airport just after 4am for their 6.55am flight. The attack occurred after 10pm.

She said they had second thoughts on visiting Turkey.

“We're feeling OK, it’s certainly a bit unsettling but we're just grateful we avoided such a terrible scenario,” Ms Sinclair said.

“We definitely had second thoughts about visiting Turkey.

“It's been on our bucket list for a long time so we decided to take the chance, but be hyper vigilant.

“We've spent most of our time here outside of Istanbul, and tried to avoid public transport as much as possible.

“There is a really heavy police presence and this is the first time we've felt unsafe.”

Ms Sinclair said yesterday they were waiting to hear when or if their flight had been rescheduled. The airport is the third busiest in the world, behind London’s Heathrow, and Charles De Gaulle in Paris.