'I escaped by pretending to be dead and hiding under bodies'

Two days after his discharge from Breach Candy Hospital, businessman Apurva Parikh spoke exclusively to The Times of India about his 36-hour ordeal and the pain of losing his two best friends, Anand Bhatt and Pankaj Shah. They were among the diners at Kandahar in the Oberoi hotel who were taken to the 19th floor and shot at point-blank range by two terrorists.

Parikh (57), who escaped, says that he later heard the voices of three to four terrorists which were different from those of the first two.

He was surrounded by his family at his Marine Drive home when he recounted his tale of horror. Based on his account, it was his presence of mind���turning sideways and sliding downwards to escape the bullets, pretending to be dead for hours, and using a piece of PVC piping to make a flag to attract attention���that saved him.

His story begins at 9.30 pm on Wednesday in Kandahar. "Both Anand's wife and mine were out of town, so we three decided to meet for dinner. When the diners heard the firing, which first started in the Tiffin restaurant, the restaurant staff herded them into the kitchen. By then, two terrorists entered, randomly started shooting, and then took 15-17 people up 19 floors. There was a lot of smoke in the stairwell, making it difficult for us to breathe, so I spat into my handkerchief to make it wet, covered my face, and told Pankaj to do the same,'' said Parikh.

"Anand was at the end of the line, trying to talk the terrorist out of it.'' On the 19th floor landing, they were lined up against the wall; the two women in the group were asked to step out.