The fiance of a woman killed in the Tunisia terror attack told her he loved her before trying to save her life, an inquest has heard.
Carly Lovett, 24, from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, died in Sousse while on her first couple’s holiday with Liam Moore.
She was among 38 people killed by extremist Seifeddine Rezgui, who opened fire at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel on June 26 2015.
An inquest into her death heard that the fashion blogger and Moore had run from the pool area of the hotel after hearing gunshots on the beach.
Seeking safety, they fled into the hotel and up some stairs to what looked like an admin area for staff, the hearing at London’s Royal Courts of Justice was told.
In a statement to the inquest, Moore described the couple comforting each other before there being an “explosion”.
He said: “We were standing close to each other, just hugging each other and holding each other’s hands.
“Carly was saying that she was scared and I said I was too, but that we would get out of there.”
He added that he heard a “massive bang” which left a ringing in his ears, and thought there must have been an explosion very close to where they were standing.
“As the smoke cleared, I immediately started looking for Carly, and I could see that she was lying on her front in the doorway of one of the offices.”
The inquest heard that he bent down towards his fiancee and turned her on her back to see her surrounded by blood.
“She told me she loved me and I told her I loved her too,” said Mr Moore, who described seeing a wound on her inner arm.
Explaining what Moore had said in this statement, counsel to the inquest Aaron Moss said: “He (Moore) performed CPR - mouth to mouth breathing. He then said that when her body relaxed, he knew that he had been unable to save her life.”
The inquest heard that Lovett and Moore had been together for 10 years and were engaged to be married.
In a pen portrait, her family described the keen photographer as the “perfect child”.
It continued: “I cannot find the words to express how much Carly is missed by her family and by so many people.”