Mumbai, November 27
As many as 125 people, including 14 police personnel, have been killed in the Mumbai terror attacks, the Union Home Ministry said tonight.
Quoting latest figures received from Mumbai, the ministry said the dead also included six foreigners and one home guards jawan. The remaining 104 were public.
The ministry said 26 policemen and seven foreigners were among 327 persons injured.
Meanwhile, according to National Security Guard (NSG) officials, all terrorists in the Taj Mahal Hotel have been killed by the commandos. The number of terrorists in the hotel is still to be determined and the commandos are conducting mopping up operations.
The battle between the terrorists and the commandos has resulted in the death of three commandos. It is not clear how many of them have been injured. According to the
NSG, all the hostages inside the Taj have been rescued. Many of the hostages came out with bloodstains and signs of injury.
The commandos have located the bodies of the wife and three children of Taj’s general manager Dharambir Kang. All four perished in the fire that was sparked by the battle between the terrorists and the commandos.
In all there have been 24 explosions at the Taj hotel, according to television channels. So far it is not clear what set off the explosions though the terrorists were all armed with grenades.
The battle in the Oberoi Trident hotel is continuing and Army columns have been pressed in to conduct combing and clearing operations in the 22-storey hotel. A number of people are said to be still holed up in the hotel.
According to eyewitnesses in the area, at least three explosions were reported from the Oberoi Trident and six from the Taj Mahal hotel. It is still not clear what caused the explosions.
Fire Department officials were valiantly trying to put out flames from outside, using step ladders. However, with the interiors barred to
them, the fire was spreading through the carpeted corridors and air-conditioning vents of the establishments.
Sounds of firing coming from both hotels indicate that pitched battles were being fought on the premises. A senior official of the Indian Navy said the commandos were conducting room-to-room searches at the Oberoi to flush out the terrorists.
Speaking to reporters in the city today, Ratan
Tata, who heads the Taj Hotels, said the group would spare no expense to restore the iconic hotel, which was set up by the group’s founder Jamshedji Tata more than a century ago.
Tata mourned the deaths of several Taj employees in the terror attack.
The state police chief said today the toll in the attacks rose to 125 even as investigators from Central security agencies and the Maharashtra Police are still trying to figure out the number of terrorists who carried out the attacks in Mumbai late Wednesday night and early this morning.
“We have so far accounted for 10 terrorists, including those dead, injured and arrested. We suspect that at least 25 terrorists may have entered the city by sea to carry the terror operations,” Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and home minister R.R. Patil said this afternoon.
Police officials say several terrorists are still holed up in Oberoi Trident and the Nariman House, all located in Colaba and Nariman Point areas of downtown Mumbai.
DGP Anami N. Roy said today that the number of dead in the terror attacks across the city rose to 125. The number of injured has been pegged at 327. However, the figures are expected to rise as several dead and injured persons have been taken out of Taj and Oberoi hotels. Commandos of the National Security Guard
(NSG), the Army and the Navy are conducting joint operations.
So far an Australian, a Japanese and a British national, apart from some Americans, have been accounted for among the dead. A number of employees of the Taj and Oberoi hotels, including reception staff, bellboys and chefs, are among the casualties.
With the authorities not willing to take a chance in case some of the terrorists are hiding in the city to carry out further attacks, all cinemas, shopping malls and public entertainment across the city and suburbs have been ordered closed till further notice. Across the city, planned trade shows, exhibitions and public activities have been ordered halted by the government even as cautious residents stayed indoors.
The police said three commando teams had stormed the Taj hotel while two had entered the Oberoi hotel. Another two NSG commando teams were set to storm the Nariman House, where an Israeli belonging to a Jewish sect and his wife have been taken hostage. Their two-year-old child and and Indian maid, who looked after them, were released by the terrorists. Some Israelis are also said to be on the premises.
Eyewitnesses said the terrorists stormed the Nariman House after taking a police van at gunpoint and forcing the policemen to drive into the place. There is usually high security at the Nariman House located a short distance from the Colaba police station since a large number of Israelis frequented the place.
A delegation of members of the European Parliament was said to be at the Taj hotel. However, officials are not confirming any details in order to ensure the safety of the MPs. About 200 persons, including several foreigners and senior executives of several Indian companies, were holed up inside the Taj and Oberoi hotels. Earlier today, Roy said several people being held hostage at the Taj hotel had been rescued.
Earlier today, personnel of the Army and the Fire Department rescued several people from the Taj and Oberoi hotels. Survivors spoke of spending several hours inside hotel rooms and in cupboards and closets as gun battles between the terrorists and the commandos raged outside. Curfew has been clamped in Colaba and Nariman Point areas.
