Rami Adham was heading home to Helsinki on Tuesday after spending 24 days completing aid work in the dangerous city of Aleppo, Syria. As he connected through Istanbul's Ataturk airport, deadly suicide bombings hit the building.
"Just when I felt relieved to be on my way back home, then we get evacuated from Ataturk airport due to the horrendous bombing," the Syrian-Finnish man told The WorldPost via messaging service WhatsApp on Tuesday. He suffered damage to his hand and other minor wounds, he said.
Suicide bombers killed at least 41 people and wounded 239 others in the attacks, Turkish authorities said. Initial assessments point to the self-described Islamic State group being responsible, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters.
Flights out of Ataturk resumed Wednesday, allowing Adham to make it back to Finland.
"Finally home," he wrote on Facebook. "Now all I want is to hug my six kids in one big sprint." He received hundreds of messages in the wake of the attack, he said, adding that they had "warmed a wounded man's heart."
Adham initially used Facebook's Safety Check to let his friends and followers know he was alive.
The WorldPost recently profiled Adham and the organization he founded, Suomi Syyria, to highlight his work on the ground during the holy month of Ramadan.
Adham travels to Aleppo six times per year to serve food and deliver toys to children living in the besieged city and nearby refugee camps. This latest trip may have been the most dangerous so far. He regularly posted photos and videos of phosphorus bombs and airstrikes.
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