Brit survivors recount the horror of Mumbai terror attacks
1 Nov 2009, 1651 Hrs

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London, Nov. 1 Nearly a year after the Mumbai terror attacks, British survivors of the tragedy recounted the tale of horror, lost hopes and shattered dreams.

London-based filmmaker Will and his girlfriend, Kelly Doyle, stopped for a night in the Taj Mahal hotel on their way home to the UK. Will fell escaping from their room, and is now paralysed from the waist down.

"We were stuck in our room listening to gunfire for five hours. We started tying sheets and curtains together. We felt if we didn't try to get out, we'd die of smoke inhalation. Soon after, the whole setup loosened and I fell, landing on my back, just above my arse," The Times quoted Will, as saying.

"I'd broken both arms, shattered my pelvis and crushed my spinal cord. My spinal injury affected everything - my identity, what I brought to my relationship with Kelly. Coming to terms with that has been far harder than the ordeal," he added.

British actor Joey, who was in Leopold Cafe when the terrorists struck, was treated as a suspect for many hours.

"About 15 minutes later the police arrived and I felt so relieved. But two officers took me to one side and put a gun to my head. I was dragged off to the police station and held as a suspect for 12 hours," Joey said.

"I kept telling them that I was a UK citizen and a victim, but they wouldn't listen. But police seemed more interested in watching events unfold on TV than putting a stop to it all. At 7am they released me without charge or an explanation. I left India the day after," he added.

A Tory member of the European Parliament for North West England, Sajjad was staying at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai as part of an official delegation

"As we reached the back wall, a man with a machinegun appeared in front of us. He was about 22, clean-shaven, dark-skinned. And he began shooting. I remember looking in his eyes and thinking: 'Oh my God, he doesn't care that he is killing these people," Sajjad said.

"I remember thinking: 'This is it, he's going to shoot me in the back.' But something inside me took over. If I'd panicked I would have been dead. As I turned the corner, I ran, and I didn't stop running until I reached the kitchens," he recounted. (ANI)

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