![]() ![]() It was a brutal strike upon an establishment that symbolised the emergence of an entrepreneurial elite in India.ĩ:38 pm: Two among the four terrorists, Abdul Rehman Bada and Abu Ali reached the main entrance of the Tower section, having planted a crude RDX bomb in front of the police post nearby. It was a brazen combat against the most affluent and celebrated in the financial capital. Rather, the attack on Taj symbolised something way more powerful. It was not just about the fear of the hundreds trapped inside or the multiple bombings and shootings or the fact that the iconic five-star hotel lay under siege for the longest period of time that made the Taj the face of the 26/11 attacks. The image of the front dome of Taj Mahal Palace hotel encapsulated with a large plume of smoke is one that is etched into the memory of every Mumbaikar. Heavy smoke from Taj Mahal Hotel set on fire by terrorists. From politicians to the country’s security agencies to the media, each failed in its responsibility that eventually claimed the lives of 166 individuals. Never before had a terrorist attack given rise to public debate of the kind that discussed the role of every element of society in inhibiting terror. It was also the first time when foreigners in the country were the target of an attack, transforming a domestic tragedy into one that ended up having significant international ramifications.īut the largest significance of 26/11 lay in the impact that it had on public emotion. For the first time, the bubble of comfort that sheltered the propertied and elite in India was shattered. ESCAPE HOSPITAL TERROR DRIVERS"I suppose he is probably one of the unluckiest taxi drivers around and yet possibly one of the luckiest given what could have been.Up until November 2008, terror was associated with the fear that vexed the life of the common man or those unfortunate, inhabiting the disputed borders of the country. ESCAPE HOSPITAL TERROR FULLMr Rebello said: “Clearly after the incident he was running on adrenaline and it’s possibly only now that the full affects of the trauma will start to hit him. "He didn't care about me anyway, I was just another person to kill." In a police interview after the explosion, Mr Perry said: "I am gutted someone died but I don't know nothing about the man. "He didn't know if the passenger was still in there, he didn't turn round to look at him."Īfter Mr Perry got out of the car, he saw it was on fire. "He saw light coming from the floor near his driver's door and, without taking his seatbelt off, he pushed the door as hard as he could to force himself out of the car. "He could see smoke and smell smoke, burning plastic, and the smell of burning body and thought 'I'm dead if I don't get out.' "When he became conscious again he immediately felt burning to his back and the back of his head and left arm. "As the vehicle stopped suddenly it felt like a wagon had crashed into the back of his car and said that he was thrown forwards and blacked out for a couple of seconds until he came around. "David described pressing on the brakes, coming to a slow stop," Mr Rebello said. Mr Perry drove to the hospital and parked outside the front entrance. He couldn't see his passenger's face as he had a surgical face mask on. ESCAPE HOSPITAL TERROR DRIVERThe taxi driver described the journey as 'non eventful', and said that if the bomb hadn't gone off he wouldn't have remembered anything about the journey. "The only words he spoke were 'Women's Hospital' in what Mr Perry describes as a foreign, Middle Eastern accent," Mr Rebello said. Mr Perry picked Al Swealmeen up from his flat in the morning on Sunday, November 14. He told nurses there that they should give hospital beds to elderly people in the waiting room 'as he wasn't a priority'. Emad Al Swealmeen (Image: Liverpool ECHO) ![]()
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