ESCAPE FROM TRAGEDY: RUSSIAN ARTIST'S HARROWING EXPERIENCE AT MOSCOW CONCERT

NEW DELHI: Russian artist Alyona Kazinskaya's last Friday's social media feed turned into a timeline of terror when she was caught in the Moscow concert hall shooting.

On March 22, Kazinskaya and her friend went to see the Soviet-era rock group "Picnic" concert. Like every day, Kazinskaya again went on her Telegram Channel to update about the concert but this time she sounded breathless and frightened as loud bursts of gunfire rang out.

In her 10-second audio message, she said, "I love you all. I'm in Crocus City Hall - Picnic. They're shooting here, at the concert. I'm in the hall. Call the police."

As four Kalashnikov-toting gunmen rampaged through the building, spraying concertgoers with bullets, Kazinskaya found herself caught up in the deadliest attack on Russia for 20 years.

As of Thursday, 143 people were confirmed killed in the massacre, which has been claimed by Islamic State militants but which Russia is attempting - despite emphatic denials from Kyiv - to link to Ukraine, reported Reuters.

Despite of the attack, Kazinskaya continued to post on her Telegram channel. She wrote three messages in quick succession, scrambling the letters as her fingers trembled on the phone. "Please ring the police!!!!!", "Crocus City Hall" and "Shooting."

She and her friend somehow managed to escape the shooting but still was trapped inside building.

At 8:17 pm, another audio message posted, saying, "Fire!"

The gunmen had used gasoline to set the huge concert hall ablaze. The two friends took refuge in a toilet. There was smoke everywhere. They tried half a dozen times to get out, but they couldn't see anything and had to keep retreating.

Kazinskaya was losing hope.

At 8:23 pm she left a four-second audio message she thought would be the last one. "I love you. Goodbye."

Disorientated, the pair of them found themselves in another toilet where more people were hiding. There was a man there who said he thought he could find a way out. They followed him and managed to escape the building - but even then, Kazinskaya did not feel safe.

"I had only two thoughts. First, I need first aid because I can't breathe. I had burning to my lungs, and an asthma attack. And the second thought was I have to get as far away from the building as I can."

At 8:31 p.m. she left a new audio message. "I'm alive. I'm getting first aid. I got out. Thank you."

Returning home, Kazinskaya, while talking to Reuters, said she just "hugged everyone". Now, she says, it will be a long time before she goes to clubs or big concerts again. But she draws comfort from the amount of support she has received.