«I have trouble sleeping. “Everyday life is a mess,” says Brad Smith, who has been struggling with panic attacks since the hostage-taking on February 8th. What began as a “very quiet day,” he remembers, ended in a four-hour drama.
Vaudois Brad Smith was one of the 13 hostages on the Travys train from Sainte-Croix to Yverdon-les-Bains. The 37-year-old is still shocked by the events.
“He held the ax to my throat.”
“I quickly tried to take the train again. It was a stop-on-demand train. Seeing the train stop in Essert wasn’t possible. I had a panic attack.” During the hostage crisis, the train came to a standstill using the emergency brake. He then hyperventilated on the train, “I had to get out.”
“Talking about it helps me realize and process the whole thing.” That’s why he also speaks to the media, says Smith to 10vor10 and RTS. “It’s a process.”
The Vaud shop owner and sports coach remembers the beginning of the hostage-taking. The Iranian asylum seeker was armed with an ax and a hammer. “It took me a while to realize how precarious the situation was,” says Smith.
Then put the edge of his ax to my neck
Because of his headphones, he noticed the hostage taker walking down the hallway with a sports bag, but thought nothing of it. That’s why he missed the man’s first requests. “Then put the edge of his ax to my neck.” So he ordered him to gather in the first carriage of the train with the other passengers. That was one of the most difficult moments. “Then he blocked our way.” This feeling of being locked up and seeing everyone else’s faces was bad.
When I don’t think about it, I suddenly have flashbacks.
But Smith’s memories are not available at any time. If he tried to remember at will, it would be vague. «But when I don’t think about it, I suddenly have very precise flashbacks. My mind is trying to protect me.”
Smith talks to hostage taker
Smith is one of the few who repeatedly speaks directly to the hostage taker. Since the man spoke Farsi, communication was very difficult. “He couldn’t express himself well.” But Smith tried to talk to him like a friend. “Daniel was another hostage who spoke to him often.” They tried to calm down, make jokes and act as a barrier to protect the others.
When the captor spoke, no one else spoke
The Vaud operational groups, the Détachement d’action rapide et de dissuasion (DARD) and the Groupe d’intervention de la police de Lausanne (GIPL) had long been present outside. The hostage taker spoke to the police and a translator. «When the hostage taker spoke, no one else spoke. The fear wasn’t even that noticeable. It was just quiet.”
Legend:
A hostage-taking incident occurred at the Essert-sous-Champvent train station.
Laurent Gillieron/Keystone
But the hostages were isolated inside, the sense of time blurred. “Because we had no electricity, the time felt much longer.” He was able to inform his loved ones via cell phone, and others also did this.
As he sharpened the ax, panic set in
Then the mood changed and the hostage taker became aggressive. He set a deadline and counted the hostages. The captor began sharpening the blade of his axe. The hostages panicked.
Then we realized that he might kill us all tonight.
«Suddenly everyone realized the horror. Then we realized that he might kill us all tonight.” There was a lack of understanding, the police always said they were coming, but they didn’t come, says Smith. “And you couldn’t look outside, it was dark, you couldn’t see anything other than the platform.”
When the hostage taker briefly moves away from the group, the police intervene. Smith was incredibly relieved when the explosion sounded. “The noise, the heat, the sound of glass, smoke, the DART forces with automatic weapons – it was like in a US film. I didn’t move – I felt liberated.”
There is a certain brotherhood among the victims; sometimes they see each other in Yverdon. He goes to the train station every day, at the same times, to confront himself. “I don’t want to let fear win.”
You can see more on the topic this evening in “10vor10” at 9:50 p.m. on SRF1.