Mr Y.H. Chow, 48, speaking to the media at Changi Airport yesterday after returning safely from Mumbai. He was rescued from the Oberoi hotel. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
LOOKING spent, carrying just their personal effects, and wearing the same clothes from two days ago, Singaporeans and others who witnessed first-hand the horror in Mumbai streamed into town yesterday.
Several had been trapped in the hotels that were attacked, and had barricaded themselves in their rooms while gunshots rang out in the hallways.
At least one had been hurt: He wanted to be known only as Mr See, and when asked about his limp and heavily-bandaged right foot as he emerged from Changi airport's Terminal 2 with only a laptop in hand, he said he had been cut by glass while fleeing the Oberoi hotel.
Among the rest, two had to endure a night of terror in their rooms as the sound of gunfire and explosions reverberated around them.
Ms Carol Tan, an employee of the Standard Chartered Bank, told reporters she was fast asleep in her Taj Mahal Hotel room when a phone call from security personnel at her bank roused her.
They told her the hotel was under attack. Then, she heard it: The sharp crack of gunfire. The suddenness of the attack stunned her. 'I had no idea what was happening,' she said.
In another part of the hotel, bank executive Y.H. Chow, 48, had been getting ready to turn in for the night when a hotel employee called and told him of the situation, and asked him to stay in his room.
'I heard a lot of bombing and gunshots. Of course, I felt I was in danger,' he said.
Both Ms Tan and Mr Chow said they kept in touch with what was going on through their mobile phones and the Internet. All this time, gunfire and explosions kept echoing around them. Too afraid to leave their rooms, both resigned themselves to waiting out the night. Regular updates on the situation kept them from panicking, they said.
Said Ms Tan, who was at the tail-end of a business trip: 'We were assured that people were being released so we just waited.'
Help for her came at approximately 1pm on Thursday, when security officers knocked on her door and ushered her out.
Mr Chow had a longer wait - he was freed at 8pm on Thursday by Indian commandos. He did not spare a moment in getting out - he bundled his laptop and other personal belongings into a hotel laundry bag and fled.
As with Ms Tan, officials from the Singapore Embassy were waiting in the lobby, and they whisked him to the consulate and arranged for him to be put on the first flight home.
Yesterday morning, Ms Tan had a teary reunion with her husband, but managed a smile as they left the airport, saying: 'I'm just very happy to be safe.'
