ASIA: 200 still trapped at Mumbai hotel: company
27 Nov 2008 10:36 PM
MUMBAI, Nov 27 AFP - Some 200 people remained trapped in a luxury hotel in Mumbai, a senior company official said Thursday, after armed militants stormed the building, taking guests hostage.
"We still believe that approximately 200 people are trapped inside" the Trident/Oberoi in the south of the city, vice chairman of the Oberoi Group of hotels S S Mukherji told India's NDTV channel in an interview.
The Trident/Oberoi was seized late on Wednesday by heavily armed gunmen from a little-known Islamic militant group who singled out foreign guests. The nearby Taj Mahal hotel was also invaded.
Mukherji said about 380 people were in the hotel at the time. It was not immediately clear how many of the 200 still inside were hostages.
Indian army and armed police were attempting to end the tense stand-off, as fresh firing could be heard, an AFP correspondent said.
Maharashtra state police chief A N Roy told AFP: "We are in the final stages of operations. We are confident that we'll be able to counter the terrorists."
Roy did not say how many extremists were still thought to be inside the hotels but said there were no hostages at the Taj but "still quite a few" at the Trident/Oberoi.
