Chicagoans Survive Mumbai Massacre
Hid for hours in hotel rooms
Updated 12:56 PM CST, Sat, Nov 29, 2008
On Wednesday afternoon, Aneri Dalia got a call she had been anxiously waiting for.
"I could not stop crying for the first 15 minutes of the conversation," said Dalia whose family is from Lake Forest.
Her father, mother, sister, brother-in-law and their 15-month-old daughter were visiting relatives in Mumbai and were eating dinner at a hotel when they heard gunshots.
The family hid in a nearby banquet hall as explosions rocked the hotel until they were able to escape through a fire door.
"Not only does it hit home because it's where my parents grew up, it hits home because they were there," said Dalia.
Steve Ernsteen says his parents, Joe and Marilyn Ernsteen of Deerfield, were staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel where they stayed locked in their room for 10 hours until getting out safely through a fire escape.
Ernsteen said he didn't' know what was happening until he got a Thanksgiving email from his parents.
Benjamin Mackoff and his wife, Carol, from Chicago, also locked themselves in their room at the Taj Mahal Hotel. They said they stayed quiet when they heard knocks at the door and stayed in touch with family through text messages. Commandos finally freed the Mackoff's early Friday morning.
First Published: Nov 29, 2008 7:23 AM CST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
