REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Saturday, November 29, 2008

INDIAN officials said four Australians were killed in the Mumbai attacks and officials were desperately trying to locate 37 others believed to have been at sites hit by the terrorists.

“We are urgently seeking to confirm the safety and welfare of 37 Australians who may be still in high-risk areas,” said a Foreign Affairs Department spokesman. “The exact number of casualties remains unclear.”

Indian police said the death toll could climb beyond the 130 confirmed dead after militants armed with grenades and automatic weapons attacked hotels, a restaurant, a hospital and other sites on Wednesday. Indian commandos ended a 41hour siege at the Oberoi-Trident Hotel in the financial hub of Mumbai by killing two suspected Islamic militants and rescuing a number of hostages. They also found a large cache of explosives. Twenty-four bodies were found inside the hotel after rescue operations were completed. “The Oberoi-Trident is under our full control. Two terrorists were killed in the encounter and some pistols and hand-grenades have been recovered from the scene,” said J.K. Dutt, director general of the elite National Security Guard commandos.

He did not elaborate on the number of victims, hostages freed or people still trapped.

Mr Dutt, who spearheaded the anti-terrorist operations, said forces were now searching every room in the hotel. Commandos stormed a Jewish centre which had also been hit, as security forces tried to flush out remaining militants.