Armed gangs stormed several tourist sites and hotels and killed at least 78 people in a series of attacks.
Armed gangs stormed several tourist sites and hotels and killed at least 78 people in a series of attacks. Chaos and fear gripped the streets of Mumbai on Wednesday as gunmen started targeting American and British nationals. According to Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, no Canadians have been injured or killed in the attacks. But that doesn't mean Calgarians with family members in the area aren't fearful for their loved one's safety. The Garrisons have a daughter and grandchildren in Mumbai. In fact, they live two streets from where Wednesday's attacks began. At around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Garrisons received a phone call from their daughter Averil. "She was saying there was shooting and some bombs had gone off nearby in the Taj Hotel and that she was at home with the children and they were safe and not to worry," says Derrick Harrison. The upper floors of the five-star Taj Mahal hotel burst into flames and thick smoke poured out of balconies. Screams and gunfire could be heard into the night. Alex Chamberlain, who was dining at the Oberoi, told Sky News TV that a gunman in his early 20s stormed into the dining area looking for people with U.S. or British passports. "They were talking about British and Americans specifically. There was an Italian guy, who, you know, they said: 'Where are you from?" and he said he's from Italy and they said 'fine' and they left him alone. And I thought: 'Fine, they're going to shoot me if they ask me anything -- and thank God they didn't," he said. Chamberlain said he snuck away as the gunmen forced the restaurant's patrons to walk up a flight of stairs. It appeared that the group was being taken hostage, he added. Indian police officials said that four of the alleged gunmen were killed as they fled in a car. Home Minister R.R. Patil added that nine more suspects were taken into custody. An obscure group called the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks Wednesday
