is one of the most popular Polish vocalists. Although he made his debut in the late 1960s, his real popularity came more than two decades later. That’s when I regularly travel around the world. During one of the trips, he was accompanied by his then partner, Małgorzata Potocka, and her dance group Sabat. Although it was supposed to be a joyful time for both of them, it was remembered only for traumatic moments.
He was supposed to play a concert on a luxury cruise ship. He became a hostage of terrorists
Although Wojciech Gąssowski was born on June 20, 1943, he considers the date of his rebirth to be October 7, 1985. – I experienced the most difficult moments in my life then – . It was then that he was supposed to perform with Sabat on a cruise ship during a cruise on the Mediterranean Sea. Once they reached the shores of Alexandria, Egypt, most of the passengers went sightseeing. It was a good time for the band to take a break from singing and rehearsals. So they went to the swimming pool. At one point, they heard a disturbing message from the loudspeakers telling them to leave the premises. – We were at the swimming pool and an announcement came over the loudspeaker that we had to leave immediately. It was hot, the ship was sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, so we treated the message marginally – in “Hot Life”. Only when the alarm kept repeating did they decide to check what was happening.
It turned out that Pakistani terrorists had boarded the ship. Gąssowski, Potocka and nearly 300 other passengers became hostages. – People were sitting on the floor and the kidnappers were standing over them with guns. One of them shot into the air, he said. Everyone was gathered on one floor and seated next to gasoline cans and crates of grenades. They were warned that if they made any attempt to escape, they would lose their lives and the ship would be blown up.
They killed a man in front of almost 300 passengers. For Gąssowski it was a lifelong trauma
The threats quickly began to come true, the situation became dangerous and a real drama began. The passengers witnessed Dante’s scenes. One of the kidnappers was very aggressive. At one point, he put a gun to the head of a famous multimillionaire and then pulled the trigger. When the man fell, he unscrupulously picked up his body and threw it overboard. Panic broke out among the witnesses of the event. Gąssowski was terrified and started asking the terrorists about their demands, but due to the language barrier they were unable to communicate.
The passengers’ ordeal lasted over two days. – They needed us, as hostages, for negotiations. Apparently some agreement was reached, after probably 52 hours, the terrorists left the ship – he said. After the incident, Gąssowski could not recover for a long time. However, he had support from his beloved, who promised him that she would never leave him. When they returned to land, they even bought wedding rings as they planned to get married. However, nothing came of the dreams, because soon the dancer left the singer for Jan Nowicki. Gąssowski did not hide his bitterness. For some time, he even withdrew from public life and gave up long journeys. Although years pass, the trauma does not leave him and today he admits that he feels safest in his own home.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
