'Nerve-wracking' escape from Cairo

A New Zealander who managed to flee the turmoil in Egypt says he feared for his safety, and getting a flight out had been "a bit of a gamble".

New Plymouth lawyer Craig Cochrane, who has lived in Britain for the past six years, had been due to fly out of Cairo two days ago at the end of a six-day tour.

But the 32-year-old's flight was cancelled, and he was forced to spend another night in the crisis-torn city.

Mr Cochrane said he had feared for his safety at the hotel, which was only a few kilometres from the square where the main protests were taking place.

"There were a lot of people outside the hotel protecting their businesses and so on. The next morning I looked out the window and there were tanks and the military and so on there," he told NZPA.

"I just was trying my best to remain calm. It's rather nerve-wracking to have gunfire and so on going on outside the hotel.

"You weren't sure whether there was going to be a stray bullet going through the window - you just tried to take cover and so on."

Mr Cochrane spent a frustrating day at the airport on Sunday, but was unable to get a flight out.

He was eventually able to get on a flight early this morning, and touched down at Heathrow about noon New Zealand time, after a refuelling stop in Beirut, Lebanon.

Mr Cochrane said it had been "a bit of a gamble" getting on the flight.

"We'd turn up at the airport and flights were cancelled - you weren't really sure whether they were on or not."

The airline was giving preference to British nationals, and a New Zealander married to a British man was told she would not be able to accompany her husband on the flight.

"They did eventually get on the flight once we were told there were 10 extra seats, but it was a rather hectic experience," he said.

"Certainly we got the impression that the airlines weren't really going to help us, and it was just a case of getting on with it and seeing where we could get away to and how quickly."

Mr Cochrane said there were "a few other New Zealanders and Australians" on his flight.

"We're just all very glad to be back," he said.

"It was a fairly dangerous situation, effectively a conflict zone with the military out and about. We never were left outside the hotels and so on. Luckily the tour company kept us safe, but the airlines didn't tend to help."

Mr Cochrane said the Egyptian people had been very good to them.

"There was a fairly mixed sort of opinion, but I think generally there was a lot of anti feeling to the current president."

- NZPA