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Fear is written on her face. The image of a young woman wrapped in a red scarf running for her life on the grounds of the Supernova Festival in Israel went around the world. Now it is clear: Ukrainian-born Vlada Patapov (25) survived the horrors on October 7. For the first time she speaks about the horror and her escape.
The young mother had decided at short notice to go to the festival that day. Her partner Matan received the tickets and on Friday afternoon they drove to the southern Israeli desert near Kibbutz Re’im. The 25-year-old already had a bad feeling. “I felt like something was wrong,” she told the Daily Mail.
Patapov was surprised that the festival took place near the Gaza border. But she trusted that organizers believed the situation was safe. The couple and Padapov’s girlfriend Mai set up camp in the desert that evening. At 6:30 am she was woken by a warning from her app: air raid siren!
Terrorists shot at them
“I looked for Matan and Mai and immediately heard shots,” she says. Then a man called on everyone to evacuate the festival site. Patapov, her partner and the friend ran to their car. The first rockets hit the location. “Then we realized it was a real invasion and that the terrorists wanted to kill us.”
As the three of them were about to leave, Patapov saw a man in uniform. She thought he was an Israeli soldier and was relieved. “But when a man got out of the car in front of us, he was shot,” she says of the terrible moments. “Now I know it was a terrorist.”
Hamas fired a hail of bullets. Patapov’s friend backed up, but cars on the street blocked the road. There was absolute chaos. As the three friends took cover, terrorists shot at them from motorcycles, trucks and cars.
Running for their lives
They couldn’t get any further into the car, so the three of them got out and ran. At that moment the image of Patapov fleeing the festival site emerged. She lost sight of her partner. As Patapov walked away from the festival site in the desert, she started to cry. Tears of relief. She had managed to escape the terrorists.
A short time later a car drove up and stopped. An Israeli asked them to come in. He took eight people to safety at an army base in his small car. Her partner was also brought to safety.
Lost friends
Patapov still can’t believe the terrorists stormed the festival. “It was peaceful, people were dancing. And they came and killed people, some of my friends – and for what?”
The young woman is grateful every day that she is alive and can be there for her daughter Romi. “Sometimes I feel guilty that I survived and others didn’t,” she says. The attack killed 340 people and kidnapped 40. Patapov: “I think about the hostages who are still in Gaza. We must not forget them.” (jwg)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
