One of those “Holy Crap!” moments — I’ve been not only to the city, but to one of the attack points. Gunmen attack targets in Indian city – CNN.com
(CNN) — Several people have been killed in a series of coordinated attacks targeting sites popular with tourists and business people, according to police and CNN’s sister network in India. Ongoing battles between police and gunmen were reported at two five-star hotels by CNN-IBN.
Gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades attacked targets including the hotels, a cafe, and a train station, police say. Police confirmed two deaths but IBN said at least 18 people were killed in the coordinated strikes, according to IBN. The attacks included five shootouts and two grenade attacks, said a police officer who answered Mumbai’s police control room line.
IBN reported an ongoing battle at the five-star Oberoi Hotel where gunmen have reportedly taken hostages after searching out people with U.S. or British passports. At a second top hotel, the Taj, IBN reported more gunfire and chaos as a grenade exploded.
The attacks began about 2230 local time (1700 GMT) and more than two hours later witnesses were reporting new explosions and gunfire.
The targets include businesses frequented by international visitors. CNN correspondent Andrew Stevens said: “We are getting reports of ongoing incidents at the railway station and the Oberoi Hotel.
“We do not know if this has reached its peak or if more attacks to come.”
A local journalist told CNN he had seen evidence of an attack at the city’s domestic airport, which is on the outskirts of the Mumbai. IBN reported explosions at a gas station and inside a taxi on a dockside road.
Attacks were reported at the Taj and Oberoi hotels, the popular Café Leopold, and Cama Hospital, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station.
While I was at the Trident Nariman Point a month ago, it adjoins (by interior walkway) the Oberoi (which is a scosh fancier and more expensive), and we actually held meetings in the Oberoi’s conference facility and ate a lunch and a dinner at its restaurants.
I learned of it by some internal e-mails, as we have an office in Mumbai and a number of our IT staff are from there. And, as I was writing this, my Mom called to let me know.
It’s a bit freakifying.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station actually appears to be the Victoria Terminus (insert inopportune rant about political renaming of things here), so that makes an additional location I’ve at least driven past.
The Times of India coverage is here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Terrorists_strike_Mumbai_80_dead_900_hurt/articleshow/3761410.cms
They mention in their story “the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point” as one of the locales. The nomenclature here is really muddled, because the Oberoi and the Oberoi Tower and the Trident Hilton and the Trident and the Hilton Towers all have had name changes in the past year or so, and it’s not always clear (even to taxi drivers) which is which.
So it’s possible that the attack was at the hotel I was sleeping in, as opposed to the adjacent one I mentioned above. In any case, yikes.
BoingBoing has a round-up of coverage sites: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/26/india-80-reported-de.html
What you don’t want to read on your hotel’s main page: http://www.tridenthotels.com/mumbai_nariman_point/index.asp
Well, not too surprising, there were attacks and hostage-taking in both hotels, thought it appears the Oberoi was the more damaged. http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/01/stories/2008120160001100.htm