Spaniard on holiday in Marmaris describes terror of failed coup d'état

"It was a horrible night," said José Luis San Miguel from Valladolid (Castilla y León), who is now waiting for a flight back to Manchester, UK, where he lives.

Speaking from Dalaman airport, José Luis said he had been staying in Marmaris, a popular coastal destination and only 200 metres from the hotel where Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on holiday.

The day started out problem-free, the holidaymaker said, and he was having dinner in a restaurant in Marmaris when he heard the news of the attempted coup.

"Everyone was calm enough, as though nothing was happening," he revealed.

But when things started to 'get serious', the Spaniard said, he decided to get on the bus back to his hotel, thinking that 'nothing would happen in a tourist resort'.

He had just started to plan his weekend activities, as he was not due to go home until Sunday night, when he saw three Army helicopters flying over his hotel.

"It was horrible, because you could hear them more and more often, and much nearer, and they were shooting from the helicopters into the hotel swimming pool below," José Luis reveals.

Some time around 06.00hrs today (Saturday), the hotel staff moved him to the basement, which he went down to on his hands and knees and where he stayed for two hours in a room with other holidaymakers.

At this point, José Luis rang the Spanish embassy's emergency hotline number and sent them an email.

"Nobody replied, though. I didn't get any reply - nothing, zero," he complains.