On Anniversary Of 26/11 Mumbai Attacks, Taj Hotel's Ex-Manager Recounts Horror

Karambir Kang lost his family - his wife and two young sons during the Mumbai terror attack.

On the 15th anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack, Karambir Kang, who was the General Manager of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai when the 26/11 terror attacks occurred, shared the painful memories of the attack when he lost his family - his wife and two young sons. Discussing the same with Humans of Bombay, Mr Kang said that he lived with his family on the sixth floor of the hotel. 

"The day was just like any other-I went for my team briefings & then left for an event at 7:30 PM. By 9:15 PM, I got a call that said, 'We can hear some gunshots at the hotel.' My 1st thought was-it might be another gang warfare. But in the next 5 minutes, I got 10 different calls saying the same- 'Something is happening in the hotel!' I rushed back. The moment I stepped out of the car all I could see was chaos. TV reporters were looming over the site. As I stepped into the hotel, I saw my worst fear coming true. People were howling & there were grenade residues on the floor. Taj didn't feel like the Taj anymore. A staff member informed me, 'The terrorists are moving around the hotel. They're killing people & taking them as hostages.' I called for a staff meeting. The only security we had were 2-3 police officers & hotel security personnels. The 1st question that I asked was - 'How many terrorists are there?' Some said 4, some said 6, & the others said 10. No 1 knew! There were almost 2000 guests. Some were stuck in the restaurant, some in the conference room, & some in the hotel rooms," he said.

Mr Kang stated they called every room and asked the guests to switch off the lights so that the rooms looked unoccupied and also helped guests on the ground floor to escape through the back entrances or the lobby.