The first of the hostages to escape on Monday, 82-year-old John O'Brien crawled between an advertising placard and a wall, hiding before he lunged at a green switch that he hoped operated the cafe's sliding doors. The risk paid off. The tennis player from Maroubra recalled plotting with co-hostage Stefen Balafoutis: "I said to the barrister, look, this is not going to end well, this guy will never get out of here alive, and he's going to take everyone with him." He ran from the building at 3:37pm on Monday.

Stefan Balafoutis

After holding his hands against the Lindt Cafe window as directed by his captor, barrister Stefen Balafoutis followed Mr O'Brien in an escape. They made off at 3:37pm, after nearly five hours at gunpoint.

Paolo Vassallo

The Lindt supervisor made a desperate dash from the site shortly after Mr O'Brien and Mr Balafoutis. The married father-of-three was taken to hospital for observation because of a pre-existing medical condition after he burst from a side door onto Phillip Street.

Elly Chen

The Lindt Cafe worker made a desperate sprint from the fire exit with her colleague Jieun Bae, escaping at 4:48pm on Monday. The UNSW student is a keen sportswoman, coaching tennis and swimming at the Presbyterian Ladies College, Sydney.

Jieun Bae

The image of escapee Jieun Bae running into the arms of a waiting armed policeman, her face contorted with fear, has become one of the most recognisable of the siege. It was taken seconds after she and fellow Lindt Cafe worker Elly Chen made a dash for freedom at 4:58 pm. The Korean design student told SBS News she thought she "would die in there."

Jarrod Hoffman

A student at UTS, Jarrod Hoffman, 19, was to make phone calls to News Corp and radio station 2GB. The teen relayed demands to the media: "He says an eye for an eye; if someone else runs, someone dies. I have had a shotgun put at my head … We are all afraid, I don't think you have ever had a shotgun placed at your head. Yes we do need help, but that will only happen if demands are met. We have been treated very well." A rushed end to the call was ominous: "He's coming now. Bye." The Bondi local was one of the first to make a break from the cafe shortly after 2am on Tuesday, after kicking an internal door down and escaping with five others, a move that apparently triggered a round of gunshots within the cafe from Man Haron Monis.

Joel Herat

Joel's father Bruce Herat recounted his son's description of an increasingly agitated gunman herded the remaining hostages into groups about 2am. "Joel and five others came to the conclusion that they were not going to survive until the morning if they did not do something. The Lindt Cafe worker, believed to be a UWS student,  broke down an internal door. "It had to be immediate, no opportunity to look back or anything like that, they just had to take their opportunity," his father said. Monis was highly controlling and erratic, he said. "He was trying to manipulate them, being nice one moment, authoritarian the next, or trying to explain that his were reasonable requests. He was trying [at times] to win the hostages over." Joel's father said Monis had reacted sharply to noises. "Every time [the ice machine churned] every hour he would turn around and say, 'someone is trying to break in – someone must die.' "

Vishwakant Ankit Reddy

A project leader contracted to Westpac, the Indian national and Infosys engineer was one of the last to escape their captor before gunfire erupted. He was in a group of six who made their escape shortly after 2am after an internal door was kicked down by Lindt workers Joel Herat and Jarrod Hoffman.

Puspendu Ghosh

Also an Infosys worker contracted to Westpac, Puspendu Ghosh is understood to be a keen diver and skydiver. He was in the final six escapees to have left before a volley of gunfire.

Fiona Ma

Fiona Ma took a job at Lindt Cafe while she was in Sydney on her Christmas break from the University of Queensland. The high achiever is a top student in the state and reportedly won the Order of Australia Association's John Lincoln Youth Community Service Award last year. Her upbeat Facebook posts during her time as a hostage in her workplace gave little idea of the gravity of her situation. "I'm getting your messages everyone!! Thank you, you beautiful souls," she posted. "Guys I love each and every one of you."

Harriette Denny

Harriette Denny, another employee at the cafe, was filmed at the window of Lindt, where she worked, early in the ordeal. In the images, she holds clenched fists by her shoulders, her eyes closed as she stands a foot from Vishwakant Ankit Reddy. Her father Robert Denny took to Facebook to voice his relief but said the family would not be celebrating out of respect to those who had been killed. "Harriette lost a valued friend and work colleague and our hearts go out to his family and the family of the lady who lost her life," her father wrote. Speaking to News Corp, Mr Denny said, "She's tired, she's relieved and she's distressed that her friend ... didn't make it through."

Selina Win Pe

With her geometrically patterned dress, Westpac global transformation project worker Selina Win Pe was a noticeable figure in the cafe windows – and in the film in which she was forced appeal to Prime Minister Tony Abbott via YouTube and media outlets. The senior server at St Peter's Anglican Church was forced to make demands on behalf of Man Haron Monis, including calls for an IS flag so as to avoid the detonation of three bombs planted in the city.

Julie Taylor

The 35-year-old barrister, who is 19 weeks pregnant, was the best friend and colleague of victim Katrina Dawson. Initial reports suggested the Randwick-based lawyer was shielded from gunfire by Dawson, though other reports suggest she escaped the cafe at around 2:03, before shots were fired. In the hours before the siege ended, Taylor appeared in a film at the behest of the gunman, pleading for "three simple things" in return for hostage releases. In a statement released on Friday, she said the impending birth of her "precious" child was sustaining her throughout the heartache.

Tori Johnson

The Lindt cafe manager is believed to have tried to wrest the gun from Man Haron Monis in the final moments of the siege. The gun went off and Mr Johnson died at the scene. The action is believed to have triggered the response from the police, bringing the siege to an end.

Katrina Dawson

Ms Dawson was good friends with Ms Taylor and was shot in the gunfire that occurred at the climax of the siege. Reports conflict as to whether she was protecting Ms Taylor from gunfire at the time of her death. Some media reports state Ms Dawson was killed by Man Haron Monis's shotgun pellets, but this is yet to be officially confirmed.

Robyn Hope

The oldest hostage to be injured in the siege, Robyn Hope is originally from England and was reportedly in the city for a pre-Christmas trip with her daughter Louisa Hope. The 75-year-old left the cafe she had entered over 16 hours before by stretcher and wheeled to an ambulance with gunshot wounds to her shoulder.

Louisa Hope

Multiple sclerosis sufferer Louisa Hope is reported to have been used as a human shield for gunman Man Haron Monis. The 50-year-old is understood to be a Macquarie Bank executive and has limited mobility, relying on a walking stick. After the climactic exchange of gunfire at 2:11am, she was assisted from the building with a gunshot wound to her leg. Both she and her mother are recovering at Royal Prince Alfred hospital.

Marcia Mikhael

The 43-year-old Westpac worker was shot in the leg shortly after 2am on Tuesday, when the siege came to a bloody head. A well-known member of the fitness community, the project manager and weightlifting champion was carried from the scene by emergency services. Her Facebook feed gave grim insights into what was unfolding inside number 53 Martin Place. "I'm at the Lindt Cafe at Martin Place being held hostage by a member of the ISI. The man who is keeping us hostage has asked for small and simple requests and none have been met," read the posts. "He is now threatening to start killing us. We need help right now. The man wants the world to know that Australia is under attack by the Islamic State." Later, an update simply read: "He is going to kill us". She was the last of the injured to be carried from the building.