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Mumbai attack: Corporate honchos trapped in Taj safe?

Last updated on: November 27, 2008 15:26 IST

Top corporate executives were inside the Taj Mahal hotel, where about 100 guests were held hostage till afternoon on Thursday. Police officials now say that all have been rescued from the hotel.

"All people trapped in the Taj Hotel have been rescued. There is no hostage-like situation there right now," Director General of Police (DGP) A N Roy said.

Several top executives of Tata group were trapped inside the Taj Mahal Hotel.  Top executives from Hindustan Unilever (HUL) including chairman Harish Manwani and Nitin Paranjpe, managing director were in the Taj Hotel.

However, there is no confirmation on whether the top officials have been rescued.

Meanwhile, top officials from Ispat Industries are still trapped in The Trident. The Ispat office at Nariman point is closed today.

Adani group chairman Gautam Adani, who was in a restaurant at Taj Hotel in south Mumbai when the armed terrorists attacked the hotel, described it as the "most horrible experience of his life."

"We were having dinner at the Chambers' on Wednesday evening which is a restaurant on the first floor of Taj," Adani told PTI. There were around 150 people in the restaurant at the time of attack and all were holed up for more than two hours, he said.

"After two hours, we were rescued and taken out by the army commandos," he said, adding that all the people who were at the Chambers' were taken out safely by the army.  

                                              Terror strikes at Mumbai's heart

In one of the most gruesome attacks in Mumbai, the terrorists targeted the 5-star hotels Taj Mahal Hotel and The Trident (formerly Oberoi) in South Bombay.

In a statement, the Taj group has said that they will do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of their guests and staffers.

The statement says, "We are actually seeing a battle on and we will be defiant. We are monitoring the development of the unfortunate situation unfolding in South Mumbai, in and around our hotel and are fully cooperating with the police and the government authorities to ensure the safety and security of all our guests and staff."

"We will rebuild every inch that has been damaged in this attack and bring back the Taj to its full glory."