Tamaoki Watanabe, the sole survivor among the eight Japanese caught in a July 1 terrorist attack at a restaurant in Gulshan area of Dhaka, told Japanese police that he managed to hide from attackers in the establishment’s garden, investigative sources said Wednesday, reports The Japan Times. The 46-year-old, currently hospitalized in Tokyo while recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in the attack, reportedly ran from the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe as the shooting started, taking cover in its garden during the 12-hour siege that left 20 hostages dead.
In his first interview with Japanese police, Watanabe confirmed that he had been at the restaurant together with the seven Japanese who were killed in the assault targeting foreigners, and said he did not see the other members of his party after running out of the building. Of the seven, the bodies of five showed they had been shot, with bullet wounds including to the head identified as the cause of death in at least four cases. Two police officers and six of the seven assailants also died in the standoff, which ended after military and police personnel stormed the building in an upscale area of Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka. Watanabe was among 13 people rescued by Bangladeshi police. According to the sources, Watanabe had a calm demeanor while speaking with investigators on Wednesday in a roughly hour-long meeting that took place at the hospital where he is recovering. The police hope to interview him further about the circumstances of the attack, insofar as his condition allows, as they pursue an international investigation.