BOSTON — Kelly Ricciuti is back home in Boston but still shaken after her experience in Kuwait.
“I’m still so on edge, I woke up hearing like a police car drove by, and just the sirens startled me so much, just thinking, where am I? Am I safe?” said Ricciuti.
Kelly and her friends were on a vacation in Saudi Arabia and planned to spend a couple of nights in Kuwait, but as soon as they landed there Saturday, the drone strikes began.
“We found out through social media that the government was advising all U.S. citizens to exit Kuwait immediately, but they weren’t providing assistance, the email that we got said you know, evacuate. However, don’t rely on the Embassy to be able to assist you at this time,” said Ricciuti.
She says shortly after getting to Kuwait, the airspace was shut down.
Their terminal was also hit just a couple of hours after they left the airport, so they sheltered in their hotel room for days.
“I was in Kuwait for three nights, I didn’t sleep any single one of them because it was every hour, we would hear sirens, and we would also hear explosions,” said Ricciuti.
Eventually, they found someone on social media who helped them get a ride back into Saudi Arabia, but Kelly says that 8-hour drive was terrifying.
“It was kind of a race for time; it felt like we were afraid that the airspace in Saudi was going to close, so we were just looking for any flights that we could get out,” said Ricciuti.
Luckily, she was able to get on a flight there to London and eventually back home to Boston Wednesday night.
“I was very happy and feeling very fortunate to get there, but also was feeling very, like, guilty for being able to get out while I know so many other people are stuck there,” said Ricciuti. “After being in that situation and seeing what everyone’s going through, that’s hard for me to do too, like how do I go back to normal knowing what’s going on over there?”
Kelly says she’s thankful for all the help from the people in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia who helped them escape.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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