Live Blog: Bombay under Siege XIV

1.45 p.m.

At the office where I am there are excited voices, raised in concern, about attacks at VT station through which I have to pass. Somebody says that in the lane downstairs terrorists were firing indiscriminately. There's panic in the building and a colleague is spreading more terror with his uncontrolled blurting of what little he knows. He gets too excited unnecessarily.

There's this news on NDTV:

"It is just a matter of a few hours before we will be able to wrap up things," Southern Command Chief Lt Gen Noble Thamburaj told reporters a little before noon outside Taj hotel as 35 hostages, including foreigners and a six-month old infant, were successfully rescued from Oberoi-Trident." The new building of Taj hotel has been totally flushed out and cleared and handed over to police, he said adding that one terrorist, possibly two, had moved into the adjacent old heritage building.

"We have heard the sound of a woman and a man, giving indications that they are being held hostage," Thamburaj said but added that almost all guests and staff in the hotel have been evacuated. He conceded that the there were some casualties among the NSG commandos but would not disclose their numbers and whether they were fatal or otherwise saying that operational details would affect the "mental makeup" of terrorists.

Thamburaj said that operations had to be "deliberate and slow" to ensure the safety of the hostages, guests and hotel staff. The commandos had been told not to rush things under the "pressure of media or citizens". He said some rooms in Taj are still bolted from inside and occupants are not responding, probably they are scared. "As soon as communication and room services are restored, we

will inform them about the situation and ask them to come out".