Paris siege: Shoppers saved by hiding inside freezer, huddled together to stay warm

A security officer directs released hostages after they stormed a kosher market to end a hostage situation in Paris. Photo / AP

Terrified shoppers hid in a freezing cold storage room for five hours after Islamic terrorists stormed a Paris supermarket.

Hearing the sound of gunfire above them about thirty Jewish people buying kosher food for the Sabbath cowered in minus three temperatures praying they would not be found.

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Image 1 of 13: Police officers prepare to storm a kosher grocery. Photo / AP

One of the shoppers, 36-year-old father-of-four Johan Dorre was able to call a friend on his mobile phone to tell him they were trapped two floors below the ground floor, where six hostages were held at gunpoint.

Then as the siege unfolded he called his uncle, who offered words of comfort as he waited behind Police barriers with hundreds of anxious residents of the quarter who had been evacuated from their homes by Police.

"Johan and the others were terrified that they would be discovered by the terrorists and were forced to huddle together like frightened animals to avoid hypothermia", another uncle Jacob Katorza told the Daily Mail, just minutes after hearing that his nephew had been freed unharmed.

"He was shopping for the kosher cakes and meat delicacies which we Jewish people enjoy on the holy day when he heard shots being fired above on the ground floor and immediately took cover with other shoppers in the basement.

"Johan was to speak to my brother Haim by phone for only two or three minutes and told him to stay quiet and wait until help arrived.

"Then we just stood at the barriers for five hours and waited for news. It was terrible- the longest five hours of my life.

"We know these people are monsters and would not hesitate to kill Jewish people. They targeted the supermarket because it was run by Jews.

"Thankfully none of his young children were with him when this happened".

Tears of relief filled Mr Katorza's eyes as he relived the drama. Beside, at the Police barrier, stood an elderly relative whose son had also been cowering in the storage room fearful for his life. He too wept with relief as friends told him his son was safe.

"In the past year 7,000 Jews have already left France and after this there will be many thousands more. We are not safe in France any more. There is no future for Jews here in France . We are finished in France."

- Daily Mail