Terrorists came in boats ... and gunned down hotel guests

Tourists were enjoying their evening meals in the two leading Mumbai hotels when the T-shirted gunmen burst in, spraying bullets amid the chandeliers, and demanding to know which guests were British or American. Although the picture remains confusing today, the assault is believed to have started about 9.30pm local time.

Leaping from an inflatable boat moored on a jetty near the Gateway of India monument, the terrorists split up, heading to hotels in the heart of southern Mumbai's tourist area, a railway station, a Jewish building and several other locations around the city. The first shooting took place shortly afterwards at the Leopold Café restaurant, a popular destination with foreign tourists.

Witnesses reported seeing blood on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers. Other attackers arrived at the five-star Taj Mahal Hotel, where there were about 2,000 guests, demanding to know which were British or American.

A tourist, Cheryl Robinson, said: "We were at dinner when we heard shots fired. There was gunfire and explosions. We stayed on the floor, many were lying under tables, under furniture, and the hotel staff told us to be quiet. They locked the doors and warned us to sit tight."
She said restaurants and rooms were flooded with water after a pipe burst in the chaos of the gunshots and blasts. "We lay down in the water. We could hear the sound of people running outside. It was terrifying." She was released from the hotel after about seven hours.
About the same time, gunmen also opened fire at the 1,000-guest Oberoi Hotel, where the first reports emerged that they were specifically targeting British and American passport holders.

Alan Jones, in Mumbai on business, was at the Trident Hotel which adjoins the Oberoi when the attacks happened. "We took the lift to the lobby and heard bangs as the door opened. A Japanese man, one of four men in the lift, was shot and wounded at that precise moment," he told BBC News.

"I frantically pressed the close door' button but had to move the shot man's foot for the doors to close. We headed back to our rooms on the 28th floor of the hotel but were quickly instructed by staff to go to a safe' room in the basement.
"After approximately an hour, we were escorted from the hotel and, with the help of our local office, made our way back to the office we've been working at."

At about 10.20pm local time, two terrorists entered the Victoria Terminusrailway station and opened fire, killing dozens of people, and threw grenades. Most of the night's fatalities were at the VT. Two explosions also went off outside and witnesses reported hearing more gunshots there.

Mumbai resident Sanvar Oberoi said he was near the station when the attacks began. "On hearing two loud distinct bomb sounds we rushed back home," he told BBC News.

"Colleges and offices have announced that they are shut for tomorrow. The entire city is in panic and shock.''

Later, there were more bomb blasts, one in Vile Parle, a residential suburb, where five people died in an explosion in a taxi. Firing also took place near the Metro cinema, about a kilometre away from the CST.

A witness said the attackers hijacked a police vehicle after opening fire at two policemen inside. There were also reports of an attack on a petrol station nearby.

Terrorists later took several patients at Mumbai's Cama hospital hostage. According to latest reports police had gained control of the building.