There was a strong argument that cricketers or in general sportspersons are not targeted at all by terrorists. Teams like West Indies, Australia and recently India had the common sense to call off their tours to Pakistan but not Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankans were asked to fill in the void created by the Indian team backing off from a tour and despite a warning from the Government of India, the Lankans decided to go ahead.
History says that sportspersons are soft targets for the terrorists to draw maximum attention although it was just one incident in the past. In the 1972 Olympics in Munich (then in West Germany) as many as 11 Israeli athletes were killed by a Palestinian militant group. Well the Sri Lankan Cricket Board thought otherwise, they were of the opinion that their cricketers would never be targeted by terrorists and will be safe and sound in Pakistan. March 3rd was certainly an eye opener for the Lankan Cricket Board.
Yesterday, the Sri Lankan Cricket Test Squad was heading towards the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, venue for the second and final Test Match. On their way to the stadium, they were attacked by as many as 12 gunmen who appeared to be prepared for the long haul carrying heavy ammunition along with food (dry fruits) and water. It appeared as if it was a hostage situation attempted but for reasons better known to the terrorists and ther handlers turned out to be a hit and run act. The Sri Lankan party fortunately got away with minor injuries.
According to all the reports that have surfaced, we can come to the conclusion that the Sri Lankan members were absolutely courageous and as the old saying goes – Fortune favours the brave. As and when they realized that they were under the attack, all of them instinctively ducked down on the floor of the bus. It is also believed that they had taken cover below the bus seats.
It was the first of its kind of attack on cricketers but remember these Sri Lankans were born and brought up in hostile environments back at home. LTTE has been doing a lot of carnage for decades together in Sri Lanka therefore it was not new for the Sri Lankans to react instictively the way they did in their bus. One of the members, Ajantha Mendis is part of the Sri Lankan Army. All that seems to have come handy for the cricketers in what was totally a different ball game.
The attack took place at around 9 AM local time when the Sri Lankan convoy was at the Liberty Square, just half kilometer away from the Gaddafi Stadium. The terrorists were waiting for the Lankan team bus to arrive and the moment it arrived they started firing from their AK 47s. The Pakistani Police escorting the convoy returned fire and in the process six of them were killed. The terrorists had launched a rocket on the bus but it missed the target and hit an electric pole. They also lobbed a grenade aimed at the bus from the front but fortunately that didn’t explode. The gunmen had initially fired at the bus tyres and then at the windows. The Sri Lankan players managed to avoid the bullets but were hit by shrapnels.
Mehar Mohammad Khalil, the driver of the bus was a real hero. While the Sri Lankan members had the presence of mind to duck down at the right time, they urged the driver to keep on moving the bus forward. The driver himself managed to avoid a shot and he held his courage to drive the bus into the stadium. Much to the surprise of eveybody, the 12 terrorists fled from the scene of the attack without doing any further damange. They are apparently still loose!
The mini bus carrying the match officials was also attacked. The driver of this bus was shot dead and a bullet hit the fourth umpire Ahsan Raza (Pakistani) on his back and he was timely saved by the Match Referee Chris Broad (an English) who threw himself on the former to lay flat on the floor.
Once the team bus entered the stadium, it was concluded that there was no further damage. Two cricketers – Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana were critically injured while Ajantha Mendis, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Paul Fabrace (assistant coach) had received shrapnel injuries. Thilan Samaraweera was hit by a bullet in his leg and Tharanga Paranavitana was perhaps the luckiest sould in the world yesterday as he survived a bullet that hit him on his chest! Most luckily the bullet hit him through an angle and didn’t penetrate, he was hit on the sternum (bone located in the centre of the chest). Both Samaraweera and Paranavitana were treated in the hospital and were out of danger.
A Pakistani millitary chopper landed right in the middle of the Gaddafi Stadium just next to the pitch to air lift the Lankan team to a safer zone. After few hours, the Sri Lankan team was flown out of Lahore to Dubai and then to Colombo.
Following are the details of the Sri Lankan members who have been injured:
- Thilan Samaraweera – Bullet wound to his leg
- Tharanga Paranavitana – Bullet grazing through his chest
- Mahela Jayawardene – shrapnel injury to his ankle
- Kumar Sangakkara – shrapnel injury to his shoulder
- Ajantha Mendis – shrapnel injury to his head and neck
- Paul Fabrace – shrapnel injury to his arm
CNN News Video of the Terror Attack on the Sri Lankan Team:
Bus Driver who saved the lives of the Sri Lankan cricketers speaks to the Media:
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