'The roof cracked and collapsed on us'

The ruins still smoulder and the smell wafts pungently through the air. At the entrance of the Marriott Hotel, Shah Hussain, a 25-year-old waiter, casts his eyes across the shards of glass, torn carpet and bits of the roof strewn around his feet in despair.

Lifting his eyes wearily, he gestures towards where large glass doors stood. "My colleagues were out here," he says, his embroidered white tunic stained with large patches of dried blood. "The valet people, doormen, drivers and security people. They all died."

Related articles

• What were Marriott bombers trying to achieve?
• Pakistan leaders had been due at bombed hotel
• BA stops Pakistan flights after bomb
• Dramatic CCTV footage of hotel bomb released
• Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: We Muslims who despair of terrorism
• Search the news archive for more stories

At the time of the blast, Mr Hussain was fortunate to have been in the Marquee Hall at the back, serving guests their evening iftar meal at the break of the Ramadan fast.

"There were close to 250 people," he said. "Most of them were Pakistani – kids, elderly people, men, women – a lot of families had come. There were a few foreigners too, who came to enjoy themselves in the atmosphere.

"We heard a loud, loud bang. The roof cracked and suddenly collapsed on us. I saw it fall on people before it fell on me. Everyone was crying and screaming, helplessly. Some of the guests were killed instantly."

Mr Hussain struggled to free himself from under the rubble. Amid the panic, heightened by the darkness created by the blackout, he searched for his fellow waiters. "I picked up many of my colleagues who were hurt, but still alive," he said. "Some had lost their hands and feet. We rushed them to the hospital and came back to help the rest."

An estimated 14 people died in the hall, according to the Interior Ministry's preliminary findings. The rest were able to leave through the emergency exit as flames consumed the hotel rooms above them. "I was able to guide a lot of guests out, through the kitchen and by the pool to the back exit, because were taught the emergency drill," said Mr Hussain. "I fear that there were others who did not know the way and were trapped inside."

It could have been far worse, he said. "We normally have more people in the rooms. And there was no wedding that day as there normally is. Thank God that they were stopped at the gates. If they got any closer, or even inside, nothing would have survived. The building would have collapsed and we all would have been killed. You wouldn't be speaking to me right now."