Kenyan mall massacre survivor smeared herself in the blood of teenage victim to make gunmen think she was dead

Boy died of his injuries next to radio presenter Sneha Kothari Mashru

The pair had been hiding from terrorists as they stormed Nairobi mall

She said: ' I took a lot of his blood... to pretend that I was dead'

Britons killed reduces from six to five after one turns out to be Kenyan



Gruesome: Radio presenter Sneha Kothari Mashru (above) survived the Kenya mall shootings by covering herself in a boy's blood to fool gunmen into thinking she was dead

A radio presenter today told how she survived the Kenyan mall massacre by smothering herself in the blood of a teenage victim to look like she was dead.

Sneha Kothari Mashru said the boy died of his injuries while they cowered from gunmen who stormed the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi.

She first switched his phone off to stop it ringing in case it alerted the attackers then came up with a gruesome plan to play dead.

She told Sky News: 'I took a lot of his blood, (as) much (as) I could and I tried to put it on myself.

'I put it on my arm, a lot of the teenager's blood, and while I was trying to put it on my hand I just realised that he had stopped breathing at that time.

'So I put it on my arm, as much as I could, and I covered my face with my hair, because my hair was let loose even then, just to pretend that I'm dead or probably badly injured,'

She said she would like to find out his identity.

Her story emerged as the search continued for bodies in the rubble left by four days of fierce fighting between Kenya forces and Al Shabaab militia.

The current death toll is 72 and is likely to climb with uncounted bodies remaining in the wreckage of the mall.

Another 175 people were injured, including more than 60 who remain in hospital. At least 18 foreigners were among those killed.

Meanwhile, the government figure for the number of Britons killed in the Nairobi shopping mall attack has been reduced from six to five.

The Foreign Office said one of the victims previously thought to have been a UK national was Kenyan.

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Chasm: New footage has revealed the extent of the destruction to Nairobi's Westgate mall after three floors of the complex collapsed during heavy fighting between Kenyan forces and Islamic militants

Carnage: The collapse came on Monday, shortly after large explosions rang out followed by billows of smoke

However, a spokeswoman warned that the casualty figure could still rise further as the authorities continue to comb the scene.

'We can now confirm that on present information five British nationals have been killed in the recent terror attacks in Nairobi,' she said.

'One individual previously thought to be British is a Kenyan national. Our thoughts are with his family and with the friends and family of all of those who have died during this difficult time.

'We have no information at this time that any further British nationals have been killed, although we cannot rule out the potential for further British casualties and we continue to stay in close contact with the Kenyan authorities as their investigations continue.'

Grim task: Foreign forensic experts are briefed as they wait to collect data on three dead victims of the attack on Westgate shopping mall

Gathering evidence: Foreign forensic experts arrive to collect data as investigations continue into the attacks