London hammer attack: 'Horror of finding my sisters covered in blood'

Dubai: Three Emirati sisters who were bludgeoned in a bloody hammer attack at a London hotel on Sunday remain in critical condition and are under constant watch in an intensive care unit in a London hospital, said a fourth sister who was not part of the attack.

The family who was staying at the hotel with the victims have since been moved to an unidentified hotel to allow police to sift through any evidence that could still be lifted from the scene of the crime.

“The embassy has given us a minibus and are helping us travel around the city, and have helped us move from one hotel to another because the police did not allow us to take anything from the room, as it is evidence,” she said.

“I do not want to speak much to the media because I was told that it could harm the investigation, but I want to thank the UAE government and our leaders, and their staff at the embassy for coming to our aid. Embassy staff have been with us at the hospital and at the hotel since the incident happened,” said Shaikha Al Muhairi in a telephone interview with Gulf News from the UK.

Shaikha confirmed that one of her sisters, 34-year-old Uhoud, is in an induced coma while her two other sisters Fatima, 31, and Kholoud, 36, are still in intensive care following unspecified surgery on Tuesday morning.

‘In shock’

Fatima is conscious, said Shaikha, and was helping detectives from Scotland Yard piece together the horrible chain of events that led to an unknown assailant entering the women’s room at the Cumberland Hotel and smashing them in the face with a hammer.

The case is now being treated as attempted murder, investigators have confirmed.

Shaikha described an unthinkable moment of surprise and terror after discovering the attack on her sisters in another room inside the suite the family was staying.

“We had two rooms in front of each other on the seventh floor, and I was with my 22-year-old brother on Saturday night in the other room at the time of the attack. When I heard the screams, I ran into the room and saw my sister covered with blood. My brother and I ran up and down the hallway, and went to the different floors, knocking on people’s doors pleading for help. I don’t remember when, but somebody soon called the police,” said Shaikha.

She explained that her sister Uhoud, continues to remain in critical condition in hospital and was put in an induced coma.

“Five of the children who travelled with us were in another room, but they saw everything. They saw their mother and their aunts being hit, and they are still in shock. The whole family is being treated at the hospital,” she said, although she declined to say where they were being treated.

Shaikha also explained that Uhoud has not been able to undergo any type of operation as she is still unstable, while Kholoud and Fatima underwent operations on Tuesday morning and were recovering.