She Was Just About to Walk Out the Door to Work When She Saw the Unthinkable on TV: 'My Heart Just Sank

As the hostage situation at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney, Australia, continues, an employee at the establishment who narrowly missed being held in the siege is speaking out.

Kathryn Chee told ABC News Australia that she was about to leave for work Monday morning when she heard the unimaginable news. 

"I was just about the walk out the door when my mom said, 'Lindt Cafe is being held up,'" she said. "[I] rushed back inside and looked at the news."

Chee, who said she had been planning to go into work early to help out with the Christmas rush when the news broke, described being shocked by what she saw on the TV screen, explaining that she "didn't know what to do."

After calling work and being unable to reach anyone, she saw three of her coworkers standing in the cafe window on the news — a moment that profoundly impacted her.

"I could see them there. There wasn't a close up from their faces, but from their outline I knew exactly who they were," Chee said. "My heart just sank."

She described the regular clients — police officers, children and locals — who frequent the establishment, expressing her shock that such a traumatic event would unfold inside of her workplace.

Watch Chee's comments below:

Read updates on the situation here.