Australian actress Brooke Satchwell trapped in Hotel Taj

Australian actress Brooke Satchwell, who was in a bathroom at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel when terrorists struck, says terrified guests locked themselves in toilet cubicles while people were "being shot in the hallways".

The former star of popular Australian soap opera "Neighbours" is in India on a three-week film shoot. She was in the Taj hotel's ground floor bathroom when she heard gunfire in the lobby outside Wednesday, reports 3aw.com, Australia's most listened-to radio station website. 

"The staff let us hide in a service cupboard between the two bathrooms. We sat in there listening to matching gun fire, " Satchwell said. The hostage situation at the hotel cleared up only by Thursday afternoon.

"Two of the male staff were sticking their heads out to see what was going on, which was absolutely terrifying. They were coming back and reporting that there was a dead body outside the bathroom and that they were seeing people being shot in the hallways, " she added.

"There was a lot of confusion, no one really knew what was going on and we all felt a bit like sitting ducks, " Satchwell was quoted as saying.

The most audacious terror attack targeted high profile landmarks, including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Metro Theatre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station killing at least 101 people and injuring over 250. The terror siege continued well into Thursday.

Views