Missing couple in Tunis attacks spent night hidden in store cupboard

Newlyweds Cristina Rubio Oltra and Juan Carlos Sánchez Benlloch had disappeared after Wednesday’s terrorist attack in Tunis, and there were fears for their lives. But they survived. They spent the whole night on Wednesday hidden in a store room in the National Bardo Museum, in the center of the Tunisian capital, in the wake of the brutal shooting – which has now been claimed as the work of Islamic State – that cost the lives of 20 tourists and three Tunisians.

They didn’t know if they were terrorists or police officers. They had a terrible time”

“They told me that they spent 23 hours locked in a dark room while they could hear shots, explosions, footsteps and conversations in Arabic,” David Rubio, the father of Cristina, told EL PAÍS on Thursday. “They didn’t know if they were terrorists or police officers. They had a terrible time.”

In a press conference held in Valencia, Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo identified the two Spaniards who were missing for nearly an entire day. He reported that both Sánchez Benlloch and Rubio Oltra had been found, they were safe and well and that they are from Sueca in Valencia.

Juan Carlos and Cristina are both nurses, and work in the hospital in their home town. They got married on March 8, and were hoping for a pleasant journey to Tunisia via Barelona. But they ended up stuck in a tortuous nightmare, from which they were lucky to escape unharmed.

Their parents were unaware of what was happening. While they knew that the couple had been in Tunisia, they were convinced that they had already boarded their cruise ship bound for Barcelona when the attack happened. The Foreign Ministry had not informed their parents that the two were missing. “We found out this morning via the travel agency,” explained David, the father of Cristina. From that moment there was panic in the family. David made a number of calls to the Spanish consulate in Tunis, but he soon received a call from his daughter. “It was the best Father’s Day gift I could get,” he said, in reference to the national holiday celebrated on Thursday.

“We thought we were going to die,” said the shaky voice of his daughter, who is four months pregnant. She explained to him that when the shooting began, they fled and hid in a room in the museum that was full of cleaning equipment.

Even though the corpses weren’t there, we couldn’t be sure that they hadn’t died”

Minister García-Margallo explained that on Wednesday night, Spanish consulate staff were visiting the morgues to check whether the bodies of Juan Carlos and Cristina were among the dead. “Even though the corpses weren’t there, we couldn’t be sure that they hadn’t died,” explained the minister.

A number of calls were also made to their cellphones, but the couple had switched them off due to fear of them giving away their location.

Finally, after a day of terror and darkness, Juan Carlos and Cristina were found in a search carried out by a police officer on Thursday morning. Both were taken to a hospital to be given checkups, including an ultrasound for her, which revealed that no harm had come to the fetus. She also received psychological treatment to try to deal with the shock.

“Given that she is pregnant they could not give her tranquilizers,” explained her father. “They are now resting in the hotel.”

David explained that he was desperate to be able to give the newlyweds a hug. The couple are due today to be flown to Torrejón airport in Madrid in a government chartered plane, from where they will be flown back to Valencia.

The health minister in Tunisia, Said Aidi, said on Thursday that despite everything, the couple from Sueca will not be taking away just bad memories. “The couple are expecting a baby,” he told a Tunisian radio station. “They promised to call it Tunis.”