A New Zealand man who was shot in the back during a mall attack in Kenya successfully underwent surgery to his chest overnight.
Andrew McLaren and his wife Kathy were at a cafe in the Westgate mall in the capital Nairobi when militants linked to al-Qaeda opened fire on Saturday, killing at least 68 people and injuring 175.
The couple got down but Mr McLaren was shot as he sheltered from the indiscriminate shower of gunfire. He was rushed to Aga Khan Hospital in a taxi and last night underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments.
Mr McLaren, 34, from Hastings, had worked in Kenya since 2011 as the operations manager for Olivado, a natural health products company with production bases in Kerikeri and Nairobi.
Olivado chief executive Gary Hannam, who flew into Nairobi yesterday, said Mr McLaren was coping well.
"Andrew completed his surgery late this afternoon [local time] and is back in the ward."
"The operation to his chest was successful, he is not in any danger, but the doctors have requested that he rest completely for at least two to three days."
He is expected to have another operation in 5 days times to close the wound.
Mr and Mrs McLaren would also like to thank New Zealander's for their support, Mr Hannam said.
When speaking to the couple, Mr Hannam said they compared the the mall massacre to a war zone - except as an act of terrorism, it was "worse than being in a war".
"They were actually sitting in a cafe and they heard some gunfire from inside the building. The cafe terrace faced the road, so they got down and bullets were just going everywhere - I mean, these guys were firing indiscriminately all over the place," he said.
"Andrew got hit and there was an older gentleman who was nearby them who told them to stay down."
Mr Hannam said a cafe worker got the couple to safety and put them in a taxi.
"They were one of the first people to the Aga Khan Hospital, so he was saved - very lucky."
Mr Hannam said people in Nairobi were in shock.
"Nairobi, in spite of its reputation, is a very quiet place. I've been coming here for a long time and this is not what usually happens," he said.
"This is a terrorist attack, and it's not something that's a reflection upon the safety of the place."
Mr McLaren's rugby club posted on its Facebook page: "The Havelock North Rugby Club would like to send our aroha and mana to Andrew and Kath McLaren."
The massacre is the second violent incident involving Olivado in Nairobi. In 2007, Aucklander Julian Nathan, 76, was beaten to death by intruders in an apartment complex where he was staying with two colleagues of his son Chris, who worked for the company.
Olivado general manager Sarah Nicholls said the attack had been a shock for workers in Kerikeri, where Mr McLaren worked for half the year.
She said Kenya was not an unsafe place and it was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Our operation there has obviously been going for about five or six years we've just built a new factory there. We're really happy with it, we're really happy with the production and Andrew's done a fantastic job there this year."
Kenya's military said most of the hostages held captive during the three-day standoff had been rescued.
The al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said was in response to Kenya's peacekeeping forces entering neighbouring Somalia two years ago.
- Additional reporting Hawke's Bay Today
