Mumbai Fire Brigade releases hitherto unseen photographs of the destruction in Taj hotel

* On the final day of the siege of the Taj, as firemen took stock of the damage on the sixth floor of the heritage wing even while the terrorists had moved to lower floors, they found a video camera with a tape in it, in one of the rooms.

* From alabaster ceilings and onyx archways to hand-woven silk carpets and valuable paintings, delicate crockery, handicrafts, lampshades and also an eclectic collection of furniture including beds, sofa sets and bar counters, some of the damage at the Taj may be difficult to restore.

* On Day Two, as firemen continued rescue operations, the terrorists threw a grenade towards a group of firemen standing outside. The grenade failed to explode, but while throwing the grenade, one of the terrorist’s mobile phone fell to the ground too. This phone is now part of the evidence investigators have collected.

These are some of the facets of the 26/11 terror attack, unknown until now, that have been documented by the Mumbai Fire Brigade, in a series of photographs and reports submitted to higher authorities.

“We have not seen the tape of the camera, but we believe it might have recorded some of the terrorists’ movements. It was immediately handed over to the police,” said a firemen. The video camera belonged to a French national who the authorities are attempting to contact.

While television viewers worried for the Taj’s iconic blood red dome late into the night of November 26, a smaller dome on the southern side succumbed to the fire, as did 12 exquisite suites on the sixth floor, the same suites that hosted global celebrities including Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton.

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