Pte. Fitzpatrick, along with some others ran and were followed by Balubas. As the bush was so dense, it was difficult to keep together. Fitzpatrick took cover in some hedgerow, near Pte. Killeen who had been hit by an arrow and was now being beaten. Pte. Fitzpatrick opened fire and Killeen managed to make it to his position, but died soon after this. Fitzpatrick was able to remain hidden. The next day after some effort, he found the search patrol. Pte. Kenny was hit with two arrows as he ran toward the bush. Found by the Balubas, Kenny was hit with another arrow and badly beaten. According to Pte. Kenny’s statement, a Gustaf opened fire and the Balubas backed away leaving him injured. It was believed to be Tpr. Browne who opened fire. Pte. Kenny has since said that this wasn’t exactly how it happened. He said that he gave an initial statement that was lost and that this version of events took precedence. Pte. Kenny remained hidden for some time. When he managed to get up and move, he was delirious. Nearly two days later, he was able to find the search patrol. Due to the chaos of the ambush and the fact that there was only two survivors, it is difficult to say exactly what happened to each man during the ambush. It is clear from medical reports that the victims were badly beaten.
At approximately 20:35 that night, an urgent message came from Niemba saying that Lt. Gleeson’s patrol were overdue by two and a half hours. A search patrol was organised at Battalion Headquarters of two Officers, two NCOs, six men, one interpreter and three vehicles.