One person died and several were hurt in the Doha Players Theatre blast

Unhurt but shocked, she says it was "unbelievable" that the damage was not worse.

"I was sitting in the front row when there was just this loud rumbling noise.

"My first thought was that the scenery was falling down - it was like a lot of banging backstage.

"Then three or four seconds later there was a huge explosion.

It was clearly his intention to kill and maim as many as possible Julie Hirst Car bomb targets theatre Expat community shocked

"It went dark, there was smoke everywhere, things were flying through the air - it was just pandemonium."

Pretty quickly after that, she realised what had happened, she said.

"I and the friend I was with, we just dived onto the floor, then realised what was happening and said 'Right, we've got to get out'."

"We got to the exit and the exit door had caved in, it was all blocked with debris, but we managed to fight our way through and made our way outside.

'Really chilling'

"Then in the street it was complete chaos. There was a massive fire. People were crying, wandering around, looking for friends, looking for relatives."

Ms Hirst, 32, who is from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, was "fine in body", although she is still "in a little bit of shock".

They could have been talking about 70 to 100 people dead - and I'd have been one of them Julie Hirst

"However, what she finds "really chilling", she says, is that the suspected suicide bomber clearly meant the number of casualties to be much higher.

"It was the third night the play had been on, and for the first two nights it had started at 7.30pm. But because the next day was a working day, it was on at 6.30pm.

"If it had been the other days, just at the time of when the explosion happened, everyone would have been in the cafe part where it happened.

"It was clearly his intention to kill and maim as many as possible. He wouldn't have known that it would have been brought forward. It was sheer luck that it wasn't worse.

"The headlines could have been a lot different, they could have been talking about 70 to 100 people dead - and I'd have been one of them."

Windows blown in

Ms Hirst lives about 20 metres (65ft) from the theatre, in a block of flats for workers at the Doha English Speaking School.

The 24 flats in the block complex have been rendered "uninhabitable" by the blast, she says.

There was a massive fire after the explosion

"There were doors blown in, windows blown in, air-conditioning units blowing in. A friend of mine had a fish tank that exploded."

She has not been back to assess the damage yet. Most of the residents were put up in a hotel for the night and are now looking to stay with friends, relatives, or the families of pupils at the school.

The school itself sustained some damage in the blast and has now in effect shut early for the Easter holidays, which had been due to begin on Thursday.

Ms Hirst says this is the first such incident she has come across, during her time in Qatar.

"Living over here, you always have to have in the back of your mind the possibility that something like this might happen. It is a volatile part of the world, you are aware of that.

'Wake-up call'

"But I've been here for nearly three years and there's not been anything like that at all - nothing significant, just the occasional hoaxes."

Doha is a friendly and peaceful city, and the large expat community mixes well with the Qatari population, she says.

It does bring home to you that you are at risk... but I'll stay for now - my job's here, my life's here Julie Hirst

"People aren't really militant here, they certainly don't expect attacks or uprisings or anything like that... and I hope to goodness it doesn't get that way."

However, she says the authorities needed a "wake-up call" in terms of security.

Ms Hirst has thoroughly enjoyed her life in Qatar so far, however, and this incident has not so far shaken her desire to stay in the country.

"It does bring home to you that you are at risk. It would have to make anyone working here assess why they are here. But I'll stay for now. My job's here, my life's here."