“We had to make sure that each and every room was cleared before we proceeded to secure an upper floor. This proved to be very time-consuming.

“Then there was the problem of evacuation. By afternoon we had sanitised three floors and had located seven dead bodies. These bodies could not be left behind and had to be dispatched to hospitals even as the combing operations were in progress by commando teams. We also found some people in an unconscious condition and these people had to be rushed to hospital.

“I myself was on location at the Taj Hotel. What we saw on entry was huge smashed window panes, a lot of upturned furniture and security guards of the hotel manning several vantage points of the hotel. There were about 140 hostages and most of them were rescued and escorted out.

“Till evening it was still unclear how many hostages remained at the hotel since teams were still moving to the upper floors. But estimates were that 30-40 people were still inside and facing a hostage-like situation.

“It will be wrong to say that the NSG moved into the operational area in Mumbai late. In fact, the decision to send in the NSG was taken in Delhi as soon as the situation began to look as one requiring storming by a commando force.

“While I cannot give too many operational details, all I can tell you is that about 200 NSG personnel form part of this operation.”

Britain rushes contingent

The British Government has rushed a contingent of its Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) to the besieged metropolis. British High Commission sources said an RDT contingent, with a mandate to assist Britons involved in a serious overseas crisis, was now on its way to Mumbai. Since 2003, RDT teams have been deployed across the globe 21 times and were previously called in following bombings in Riyadh, Doha, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Marmaris and Bali. British diplomats said while till late evening, the exact number of British casualties or hostages was not known, the diplomatic response had been very swift. British High Commissioner Sir Richard Stagg arrived in Mumbai on Thursday morning and was joined by a team of diplomats and field staff from New Delhi. The RDT team, which has specialised training in evacuation and emergency operations, is expected to arrive in Mumbai late in the night.