An Italian couple, who were stuck in the Taj for 60 hrs during the November terror attacks, are back in the city and say...
An Italian couple, who were stuck in the Taj for 60 hrs during the November terror attacks, are back in the city and say...
An Italian couple who was held hostage for nearly 60 hours inside the Taj on 26/11 is back in Mumbai, the city
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LUCKY: Italian couple Suomi La Valle and Nadia Colombo, survivors of the 26/11 terror attacks, at the Taj Hotel. PIC/ BIPIN KOKATE |
they consider home.
Nadia Colombo (62), a fashion designer, who frequently visits India on business trips, and her husband Suomi La Valle (66) consider themselves lucky to be alive. "Mumbai is like home for us. We have become Mumbaikars and come here twice a year. No one can stop us from coming to India," said Suomi.
But the couple who live in Venice, Italy, remember every moment of their tumultuous 60 hours inside the Taj.
"We stayed on the fourth floor and were to leave the city the next day. At 9 pm on 26/11, we were waiting for the lift when we heard gunfire.
The hotel employees told us about the terrorists and asked us to get back to our room and not allow anyone in. Once inside, we came to know about the terror strikes at CST, Trident and Nariman House through the TV, but the cable went off soon after. Our daughter in London and son in Sydney kept us abreast of the developments.
"The terrorists kept firing all night. Then, at 4 am, there was a huge explosion above us and smoke started entering our room. Nadia opened the window and put a wet towel near the door to stop the smoke, but it only got worse. We decided to leave, but got lost twice in the corridor. We realised our mistake of stepping out and decided to go back, but couldn't, as we had forgotten the keys.
"We knocked on every door, but nobody offered help. Finally, Nadia screamed in the hope that someone would hear a woman's voice and help. She cried, 'I am an Italian. I am dying. Please help, open the door.' Hearing her cries, a German man called Michael, let us in. When we asked him why he opened the door, he said he took a risk because it was a woman's voice. We saw death from very close. It was divine intervention that saved us."
Thank you...>> Michael, the German man who gave us refuge in his roomu00a0
>> Fire brigade for a marvellous job
>>u00a0The police who took us to a hotel next to the Taj and arranged for refreshments
>>u00a0Friends from India and abroad who kept in touchu00a0
>> The Taj staff for their hospitality
