1 December 2008

Paris – Some 77 people from nearly a dozen countries who escaped the attacks in Mumbai arrived in Paris from India on Saturday with tales of confusion and fear in the Indian city hit by Islamic militants.

Among the passengers was a French woman with a broken arm, who was taken to hospital, while an Italian man suffered from a bout of phlebitis and was treated at the airport, officials said.

Four other passengers were in a state of shock, they added.

Phillippe Meyer, who had been on a business trip to Mumbai, said he was stuck in one of the hotels targeted by militants, who launched their coordinated attacks on Thursday.

"We found ourselves shut away in our rooms for a very long time, about 40 hours. The information was very confusing," said Meyer, 53.

A 29-year-old French woman who had been on vacation in India said she was relieved to be back home.

"I'm fine, but some people were not as lucky. At the time, we didn't realise it," said Fazia, who stayed at the Ritz hotel, near the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel that was a key target of the attacks that claimed 195 lives.

"We left (our hotel) to join some friends at a club, and people told us there was gunfire. So we quickly turned around and stayed in our hotel."

Other passengers on the plane chartered by France were too upset to speak to journalists. "It is too hard. Please, leave me alone," said one woman in tears.

The nationalities of the passengers on the Airbus A310 included 29 French nationals, 19 Italians, 17 Spaniards, five Germans, and one each from Poland, Kazakhstan, Greece, Switzerland, Algeria, Congo and the Netherlands. Four of them were members of the European Parliament.

The overall toll was 172 people dead and nearly 293 wounded. About 30 foreigners were killed including five Americans, two French, two Australians and two Canadians.

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