Paris attack survivor reveals she played dead to escape Bataclan massacre

A University of Cape Town student described her heart-wrenching account as she played dead for over an hour in the Bataclan during the Paris attacks.

Isobel Bowdery, 22,  shared her story Sunday on her Facebook page, showing her shirt covered in blood.

Bowdery recalls the happy atmosphere with everyone dancing and smiling – believing the sudden gunshots were just a part of the show.

“We naively believed it was all part of the show,” Bowdery said. “It wasn't just a terrorist attack, it was a massacre."

Bowdery said that she was shocked and alone. She pretended to be dead for over an hour, lying among people who could see their loved ones motionless.

“Holding my breath, trying to not move, not cry, not giving those men the fear they longed to see. I was incredibly lucky to survive. But so many didn't," she said.

Being a survivor, Bowdery wanted to shed the light on some of the heroes that she said saved her.

"To the man who reassured me and put his life on line to try and cover my brain whilst I whimpered, to the couple whose last words of love kept me believing the good in the world, to the police who succeeded in rescuing hundreds of people, to the complete strangers who picked me up from the road and consoled me during the 45 minutes I truly believed the boy I loved was dead, to the injured man who I had mistaken for him and then on my recognition that he was not Amaury, held me and told me everything was going to be fine despite being all alone and scared himself, to the woman who opened her doors to the survivors, to the friend who offered me shelter and went out to buy new clothes so I wouldn't have to wear this blood stained top, to all of you who have sent caring messages of support - you make me believe this world has the potential to be better. to never let this happen again. but most of this is to the 80 people who were murdered inside that venue, who weren't as lucky, who didn't get to wake up today and to all the pain that their friends and families are going through. I am so sorry. There's nothing that will fix the pain."

The post has been shared over 1,517 times within three hours.