Sydney siege survivors speak on TV

Mikhael also stated she believed the army should have been in charge of handling the siege.

She was grateful she was alive and did not criticize the officers involved, but instead the tactical management of them.

Two other hostages -- Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and Katrina Dawson -- died in the siege.

Two of the hostages described how Monis forced Johnson to his knees after another group of hostages escaped just before the siege ended.

He soon shot Johnson at point-blank range in the back of his head. The police quickly stormed the cafe, and mother-of-three Dawson, 38, died from a police bullet, believed to have ricocheted before it struck her in the heart.

Mikhael maintained it was good luck, not good management, which saw her survive. She was hit in both legs by fragments of police bullets.

Other hostages were similarly injured during the final raid.

One hostage, cafe employee Jarrod Hoffman, 19, said he and fellow employee Joel Herat, 21, considered trying to overpower Monis to end the siege.

Hoffman told the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program that he had a razor-sharp Stanley knife in his pocket from cutting up boxes earlier in the morning.

"I gave him (Herat) a Stanley knife ... just in case," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said at one point Monis was sitting below him on a lounge.

"I thought, 'Do I stab him? What if I miss? What are the consequences of that?'"

"Someone would need to jump, hold his arms down and stab him in the jugular... but he had his gun."

"He had it on his knee and I could see that it was pointed directly at (fellow hostage and cafe worker) Julie Taylor's back."

Other hostages explained how they escaped, including two who slipped out without Monis noticing.

The two programs aired directly against each other, but had different production styles besides the actual interviews.

Channel Seven's news offices were directly opposite the Lindt cafe.

One of its news cameraman was allowed to film the entire siege next to a police sniper, capturing extensive footage such as hostages being forced to stand in windows.

The real-life footage was matched with descriptions from the six hostages it interviewed, including escapes.

Most of this footage was aired for the first time on Sunday night. It also showed Monis using hostages as human shields while threatening them with his short-barreled shotgun.

The footage was also being sent live to the nearby police command center.

Authorities have said all questions raised about the handling of the siege -- including those raised in Sunday night's broadcasts -- will be covered at an extensive coronial inquest.

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