Guests in hotel, prevented Commandos to complete their task

MUMBAI: The bodies of hotel guests, presence of civilians and the terrorists knowledge of the hotel's layout are among the factors that prevented the elite Marine Commandos (MARCOS) from completing their task, a MARCOS commander said here.

"We would have got the terrorists but for the guests bodies and blood all over," the MARCOS commander, whose identity was withheld for security purposes, said.

The MARCOS had rushed to the second floor of the heritage building of the Taj Hotel in the wee hours today after hearing gunshots from there and found 12 to 15 bodies lying there.

"We believe terrorists were well informed regarding the layout of the hotel and in no time vanished from there", the commander said.

From the encounters between the two groups, there were estimated to be two to three terrorists in the hotel, he said.

"The people appeared to be familiar with the layout of the hotel and it appeared that they had carried out a survey before," he said.

The terrorists kept shuttling between the old and new buildings of the hotel and after first entering the heritage building and engaging in a fight with the commandos occupied a room on the second floor of the new building.

"When we went to the room, they fired giving us a positive indication of being people in the room," the commander added.