English cricketers were due to check into the Taj; change of plan saves them
LONDON: British officials were on Friday reported to be investigating Indian media reports that Britons might have been involved in the Mumbai terror attacks, but officially there was no comment and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith told the BBC that the government had “no knowledge” of any British links.
A Home Office spokesman told The Hindu he had nothing to add to what Ms. Smith had said.
Meanwhile, a team from Scotland Yard left for India to help with the investigations following Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s offer that Britain was ready to “do everything we can to help the Indian authorities.”
The government expressed concern over the safety of Britons caught up in the attacks and advised British citizens not to travel to Mumbai unless it was absolutely unavoidable.
Among those trapped at the Taj hotel on Wednesday was Sir Gulam Noon, well-known British-Indian food magnate.
He said there was a “panic situation” as he and five others were forced to barricade themselves in a room while terrorists prowled in the corridors and smoke seeped into the room.
“We could feel it in our throats. We knew it was serious,” Sir Gulam said.
After several hours, they were eventually rescued by firemen. Another British businessman, Andreas Liveras, was not so lucky and killed minutes after telling the BBC on phone that there were bombs “next door” and the hotel was “shaking.”
His last words were: “There must be more than 1,000 people here. All we know is the bombs are next door and the hotel is shaking. Everybody is living on their nerves.”
Luckily, the England cricket team, which was due to check into the Taj the day the attacks happened, changed plans at the last minute and went to Bangalore instead for a training camp. The former England captain, Michael Vaughan, told The Daily Telegraph: “It was only at the last minute that our training camp was switched to Bangalore. …All our Test kit is at the Taj.”
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/29/stories/2008112954131300.htm
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