The emergency packages of food and water had been delivered and the evacuation process was under way. But then, suddenly, shellfire erupted bringing with it widespread panic as people began to scramble out of the bus, which was due to take them to safety.
The civic society activists, who had come to Irpin to collect civilians, pleaded with them to get back on board, saying they would be trapped behind enemy lines otherwise. But the families, calling out to each other, with children crying and pet dogs barking, ran to a church nearby – and soon it was too late for them to escape.
