Elly Chen seen running towards police officers after escaping from the Lindt Cafe on Monday.Reuters 
Elly Chen seen running out of Lindt Cafe after five hours of captivity on Monday.Twitter 
Hostages seen holding Islamic flag at window of Lindt cafe.Twitter 
Hostages seen through the window of the cafe in Sydney.Twitter/Stephen Wilson
Even as the Sydney hostage crisis at the Lindt cafe in Martin Place continues, some of the most prominent and shared pictures from the disturbing episode were of a woman, Elly Chen, who was first seen by the window holding up an Islamic flag with another hostage, and later making a dramatic escape from the cafe.
Chen, a Sydney university student who was working at the ill-fated cafe, was one of the first hostages to be seen through the windows as television cameras splashed her face when the news of the siege broke out globally.
After seven terrifying hours, Chen managed her escape following three hostages, who were seen running out of the cafe.
She was seen wearing the brown apron and running frantically towards police officers, a little after another woman made her escape.
Her friends and family reacted with relief on seeing her escape.
"I just saw the wonderful footage that Elly has escaped or has been released. Gosh what a relief'', Chen's friend Bee Doyle told The Daily Telegraph.
Five people managed to escape the siege, but several are still holed up inside the cafe as the gunman continued the seige into the 12th hour on Monday, forcing hostages to hold up Islamic flags and even using them as human shields as they moved across the windows of the cafe.
