Crisis Management – A case study on Mumbai Terrorist Attack on Taj Mahal Palace

- Sheena Murpani

Overall events…

• Warnings given to Taj Hotel and the Centre

• Entry into India and initial attacks• At the Taj Mahal Palace and

Tower Hotel• At the Oberoi Trident• At Nariman House

Date Time Event

21 Nov

evening

Ten terrorists leave Karachi, Pakistan in a boat and travel for thirty-eight hours, remaining undetected by the Indian Navy.

22 Nov

Each of the 10 men is given 6 to 7 magazines of 30 rounds each plus 400 rounds not loaded in magazines, 8 hand grenades, one AK-47 assault rifle, an automatic loading revolver, credit cards and a supply of dried fruit.

23 Nov The terrorists hijack an Indian trawler the Kuber, killing four fishermen and ordering the captain to sail to India.

26 Nov dusk They reach within four nautical miles (7 kilometres) of Mumbai and kill the captain. They then proceed to board

three inflatable speedboats and proceed towards Colaba jetty

26 Nov 20:10

The first boat carrying around ten of them with several large bags docks at Macchimar Nagar, in Mumbai's Cuffe Parade neighbourhood, where six of the men disembark and the rest continue sailing along the shore. When local residents ask about their occupation, the group responds that they are students.

26 Nov 20:30

Another such incident plays out in Colaba, when the remaining men come ashore at Badhwar Park, Cuffe Parade. They reportedly tell local Marathi-speaking fishermen to mind their business before they split up and head two different ways.

26 Nov

Two terrorists attack Leopold Cafe, spraying bullets onto the people inside before fleeing. 10 people are killed and many are injured, including a Reuters news reporter. Terrorists also plant bombs in two taxis, killing 5 people and wounding 15.

26 Nov

Four of the men enter the Taj Mahal Hotel, two enter the Oberoi Trident, two enter Nariman House, and the other two men, Ajmal Kasab and Ismail, take a taxi to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

26 Nov 21:20 Armed with AK-47 rifles, Ajmal and Ismail enter the passenger hall of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway

station, open fire and throw grenades,killing 52 people and wounding 109

26 Nov 22:30

They then proceed to the Cama Hospital. The Hospital staff, noticing their approach, lock all of the patient's rooms. The two men reach the Hospital, opening fire there. ATS chief Hemant Karkare attempts to chase them in a jeep, but is gunned down, along with three of his men. The terrorists then hijack the jeep and drive away, but are intercepted by a team from the Gamdevi police station near the pedestrian bridge at Girgaum Chowpatty . Ismail is killed and Kasab is arrested.

Date Time Event26 Nov 23:00 Terrorists enter Taj hotel.27 Nov 00:00 Mumbai police surround the hotel.27 Nov 01:00 Massive blast in the central dome, fire in the building.

27 Nov 02:30 Army soldiers arrive in two trucks and enter the front lobby. Fire spreads across the top floor.

27 Nov 03:00 Fire engines arrive. Shooting is heard inside lobby and heritage building.

27 Nov 04:00 Firemen rescue people with ladders.More than 200 people evacuated.27 Nov 04:30 Terrorists reported to move from central dome to new tower.27 Nov 05:00 Commandos and Bomb squad arrive. Police step up pressure.

27 Nov 05:30 Fire brought under control but terrorists holed up in new tower with 100 to 150 hostages.

27 Nov 06:30 Security forces say they are ready for encounter.Government also gave green signal

27 Nov 08:00 People are brought out of the lobby.27 Nov 08:30 Another 50 people brought out of Chambers Club.27 Nov 09:00 More rounds of firing, many more people reported to be still inside.27 Nov 10:30 Gun battle reported from inside hotel.27 Nov 12:00 50 people evacuated.27 Nov 16:30 Terrorists set fire to a room on the 4th floor27 Nov 19:20 More National Security Guards (NSG) commandos arrive, enter hotel.27 Nov 14:53 Six bodies recovered.

28 Nov 14:53 – 15:59 Ten grenade explosions.

28 Nov 15:00 Marine commandos recover explosives from Taj.

28 Nov 16.00 12 to 15 bodies recovered from the Taj by naval commandos.

28 Nov 19:30 Fresh explosions and gun shots at Taj Hotel.

28 Nov 20:30 Report that one terrorist remains at the Taj.

29 Nov 03:40 – 04:10 Reports of five explosions at the Taj.

29 Nov 04:20 The Taj Mahal Hotel is reported to be completely under government control.

29 Nov 05:05 Revised estimate of one terrorist remaining.

29 Nov 07:30 Fire raging on first floor. Black smoke on second floor. Gunshots heard frequently — apparent gun battle.

29 Nov 08:00Indian commandos state that the Taj Hotel is now under control though they are still conducting room to room searches. People celebrate on the streets.

• In October, US intelligence agencies warned the chairman of the company that owns the hotel, Mr Ratan Tata that there will be a terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

• India's Foreign Intelligence agency is reported to have said it received information in September that Pakistan-based terrorists planned attacks in Mumbai. 

• On 18 November, Indian intelligence agencies intercepted a satellite phone call to a leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization, which revealed plans for a sea borne attack.

WHY ? HOW?• Although the beloved landmark had been warned of a

possible terrorist attack there no immediate acts of precaution executed that week.

• A few eased out plan were scheduled but were removed soon after.

• But Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said those measures, which were eased shortly before this week's terror attacks, could not have prevented gunmen from entering the hotel.

• "If I look at what we had ... it could not have stopped what took place," Tata said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

• he 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks which lasted 67 odd horrific

• hours claimed 174 innocent lives and left over 1000 wounded.

• For many of them life will never be the same again.

• Terrorism cover• 50 percent more premium• Taj oberoi trident > unexpected but still have terrorism cover so all the material cost will be

recovered • Add on fire insurance• While the Taj Hotel is insured jointly by Tata AIG General Insurance (65 • per cent), ICICI Lombard (30 per cent) and Iffco Tokio General Insurance (5 per cent), Trident is

primarily insured total = Rs1000 crore• by United India Insurance. Both the hotels are understood to have taken terrorism cover and loss of

profit as • add-on policies with the fire insurance covers from their respective insurers.Unlike the 9/11 attacks in the US, which resulted in companies having to shell out more for insurance

covers or entities such as airlines operating without terrorism insurance, Indian companies can breathe easy.

Because of the terrorism insurance pool created after the terror strikes in the US, insurers said, costs will be

manageable for Indian companies and they will continue to get risk covers.Different companies have different terms and conditions relating to terror cover

Overview• The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel has become famous for combining

Islamic and European Renaissance architecture. Its 565 rooms are decorated in Moorish, Oriental, and Florentine styles. Interior details include:onyx columns

• vaulted alabaster ceilings• cantilever stairway• prized collections of Indian furnishings and art• The vast size and exquisite architectural details of the Taj Mahal Palace and

Tower made it one of the world's most famous hotels, rivaling such Hollywood favorites as the

• The palace and The tower• It has a total of 582 room including 46 suites and 2 independent cottages• 6 Resturants , 11 Banquet halls , 2 bars, 2 lounges, nightclub, swimming

pool and an excellent luxury spa.• 1500 employees

Overview• 12 staff members lost their lifes and a security dog

The owners of the Taj Hotel have pleged to repair the damages and restore the hotel to its former glory. The restoration project is expected to take a year and to cost about Rs. 500 crore, or a hundred million dollars.

• Taj called its 1,500 employees for a meeting on December 1 to decide a future course of action. • Hours after security forces handed back the hotel to management on December 1, the Taj issued a

statement at 1.00 pm on Monday saying the heritage building had been sealed, until risk assessment teams studied damage after the terrorist attack.

• Also on Monday, a six-member Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team that flew in from the United States(Joined by Britains) spent two hours sifting through wrecked suites, blackened walls and bullet-ridden corridors of a hotel

• Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram was appointed the new home minister after his predecessor, Shivraj Patil, resigned on Sunday, accepting "moral responsibility" for the attacks.

• "Rescue and recovery operations by the security forces are continuing at the Taj Mahal [Images ] Palace and Tower, Mumbai. The hotel management and staff are working closely with the relevant authorities and providing full cooperation to them for the safety and security of all our guests and staff," the company said in a statement.

• Condoling the loss of lives in the terrorist attack, it said: "Everyone at the Taj Hotels is greatly saddened by the recent act of terrorism. Our deepest condolences go out to the families of those who have lost their lives across the city of Mumbai."

• The firm said it has set up a 24x7 helpline to provide updates to the families of its guests who have checked into the hotel since November 26 onwards.

• The sickly sweet smell of dead bodies mixed with the odour of cordite was overwhelming in the shattered lobby of the Taj Mahal hotel after the siege ended.

• The charred remains of the ground floor soon after army commandos killed the final terrorist in the Bombay (Mumbai) attacks and began to remove the corpses of his victims. Once patronised by the world's rich and famous, only a burnt out shell remains.

• In the lobby, peppered with bullet holes, traumatised hotel staff huddled disconsolately together in groups. All wore face masks against the overpowering stench and gloves in case they were summoned to carry yet another dead body recovered from the debris upstairs.

• Half-burnt Burma teak tables, broken glassware and bottles littered the Harbour Bar, until Wednesday the city's most elegant destination for a drink. Overlooking the Gateway of India commemorating King George V's visit to India in 1924, it seemed to have served its last cocktail.

• In the nearby Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant, half-finished bowls of soup and plates still piled with food on chili-sauce stained white table cloths were strewn across the room.

• The walls were peppered with bullet marks and shrapnel from grenades - the product of a prolonged firefight between army commandos and two militants as they tracked each other across the cavernous hotel, laid ambushes and dodged one another in a macabre death dance.

• The popular restaurant's large sparkling picture window had disintegrated, replaced by jagged shards of glass. Parts of it had also caught fire which was extinguished by firemen leaving the restaurant engulfed in pools of dirty water.

• Hundreds of guests and revelers were caught up in the violence that spread with equal ferocity to the nearby Trident-Oberoi hotel and a Jewish centre a short distance away.

• The adjoining designer boutiques along the Taj's celebrated sea-front promenade were similarly damaged, their stock including Mont Blanc fountain pens lying smashed or half-burnt.

• A group of exhausted commandos who had engaged the militants for two nights inside the cavernous hotel after their deployment, reclined exhausted in one corner of the hotel's lobby.

• They ate listlessly from lunchboxes. It was the first cooked food they had seen in three days, but they found it difficult to swallow as their nostrils were still assailed by the stench of charred flesh and choking cordite from thousands of rounds expended in battle.

• Most of them had survived without food or water for nearly 60 hours, lying motionless by the side of putrefying bodies for hours waiting for the next burst of fire from the militants. "It was sickening. But there was no option," a commando said, declining to be named.

• One commando said that in the corridors above the ground floor there were corpses decaying in the city's oppressive heat, the floors slippery with congealing blood.

• Vast portions of many floors he said had burnt down and needed replacing while others were covered with mountains of broken glass, smashed furniture, doors ripped off their hinges and shattered artifacts.

• Family members and friends of some of the dead mourned quietly in the lobby, their grief overtaken by the bureaucratic harassment required merely to come there and claim the bodies of the deceased.

• "It's been a nightmare after the shock of my closest friends death to navigate officialdom," said Miss S Chowdhury who was there to collect the body of her colleague, a journalist, who had suffocated in the pall of smoke that engulfed the first two floors at the height of the siege.

• She was found crouching by her bed in her suite, praying.

• Those stranded in hotels might have had a shorter ordeal if the hotel management had put into place at least some kind of emergency plan in case of a terrorist attack. About 100 people, including one man with a gunshot wound, took refuge in a conference center at the Taj when they heard shooting but were left there all night, with no communication from anyone, let alone any instructions on how to exit the building safely.

• Hotel managers at the Taj are given some crisis-management training, but nothing that would prepare them for a situation in which the attackers were running "free and loose" inside the hotel, says Anupam Amrohi, 23, an employee of Taj hotels in Bangalore. Amrohi was on the phone with his friends trapped inside the conference center all night. "They should have pulled the alarm," he says. Instead, hotel staff advised people already inside to stay where they were. People in their rooms were told to stay put even after the firing between the police and the suspects began. Hotel operators would call them periodically to remind them to keep the lights off and the volume on the TV down.