For Yelena Arkov, watching from her third-floor flat at 13 Oktyabrskaya Street in Beslan, the first sign that something was amiss was the balloons. Dozens soared into the sky through the trees at the school 100 yards away.

September 1, the first day of school and known as Knowledge Day, is traditionally a day of celebration in Russia.

Last Wednesday, as is the custom, children dressed in their best clothes brought bouquets of flowers and balloons for their teachers at Middle School No 1 in Beslan. Many were accompanied by parents, as well as younger brothers, sisters and grandparents.

Arkov’s own daughters, Inna and Natalya, were among them, wearing new shoes and dresses. So, too, were many other children from the block at Oktyabrska Street.

It should have been a day of hope and joy, but the mood of celebration turned suddenly to one of unspeakable horror. As the children lined up for the outdoor assembly, an open-backed truck, of the sort used by Russian troops, roared into the playground.

Inside were at least 20 bearded men, masked and in camouflage gear, armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades. With them were several women in robes.

As the men fired shots into the air, the terrified children let go of their balloons. Arkov, who was getting ready for work, heard what sounded like fireworks and rushed to her balcony.

“Suddenly a multitude of different coloured balloons rose over the top of the building,” she said. “Then the firing became more and more frequent. I knew something terrible had happened.”

As panicking children and parents fled into the school, Elza Viktorovna, one of the teachers, began to remonstrate with the armed men, demanding that they should at least release the youngest children.

A gunman appeared to listen intently to her request, then asked: “Have you finished?” As she nodded he shot her in cold blood.

Nazira Gergaolova, whose granddaughter was among the hostages, watched in horror. “She was alive for a while, suffering lying there in the yard, but nobody could approach to take her away,” she said.

The teacher’s murder would set a marker for the slaughter to come. In the 52 hours that followed, at least 1,181 men, women and children were held hostage in Middle School No 1.

Last night, while surgeons fought in appalling conditions to secure the lives of survivors, Russian news agencies reported that at least 323 people had been killed; many of them were children.

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