Brit yachting tycoons called BBC before being killed
November 28th, 2008 - 1:33 pm ICT by ANI Mumbai/Nicosia, Nov.28 (ANI): British Greek yachting tycoon Andreas Liveras is said to have given a harrowing account of the situation inside the terrorist-held Taj Hotel in Mumbai, moments before he was shot dead.
Liveras, 73, telephoned the BBC from a locked room inside the hotel as terrorists fired AK47 automatic rifles and set off grenades outside.
The self-made millionaire, who ran a chartered yacht company based in Monaco and was in Bombay for a trade show, had described how he and other guests were locked in the basement of the hotel for their own protection.
There must be more than 1,000 people here. There are residents and tourists and locals. We are not hiding, we are locked in here nobody tells us anything, the doors are locked and we are inside. Hotel staff are helping us a lot, providing water and sandwiches but nobody is eating really, people are frightened, The Times quoted him, as saying.
Theast bomb exploded about 45 minutes ago and it shook the hotel up. Nobody comes in this room and nobody goes out. All we know is the bombs are next door and the hotel is shaking. The hotel is shaking every time a bomb goes off. Everybody is just living on their nerves, Liveras further said.
At 9.30 p.m. Mumbai time, Liveras was pronounced dead by doctors at the St Georges hospital.
The circumstances of his death remain unclear, but a hospital spokesman said that he had been shot multiple times.
Liveras said that he had visited the hotel on Wednesday for a curry after hearing that it served the best food in Bombay.
Family members said that he might have escaped death had he been carrying his Cypriot passport.
Theophanis Liveras, his brother, told The Times that Andreas was in a good frame of mind and was talking to his son Dion in England hours before his tragic death.
Theophanis, who lives in Nicosia, Cyprus, called Liverass mobile phone, which was answered by an Indian woman who shocked him by shouting: Hes been shot.
The victim was the first of nine children born to a shepherd in Cyprus.
His brother said: His death is a terribly unfair loss. If he had been killed in an accident, for example on his private plane, I could have understood that. But this is so utterly unfair.
Three daughters and a son who all live in England survive Liveras. (ANI)
- Cypriot businessman killed in Mumbai attacks - Nov 28, 2008
- Killed Brit tycoons family says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time - Nov 30, 2008
- British soldier jailed for rape - Mar 10, 2012
- British Curry King survives to tell tale of Mumbai terror - Nov 28, 2008
- Indian among three jailed for stealing ex-president's corpse - May 17, 2011
- APOEL Nicosia make Champions League breakthrough - Dec 02, 2011
- Real Madrid to play Apoel in Champions League - Apr 04, 2012
- APOEL make Champions League history beating Lyon - Mar 08, 2012
- British police officer banned over dead dogs - Oct 13, 2011
- Stolen remains of Cyprus ex-president reburied - Mar 12, 2010
- Thieves demanded ransom for former president's body - Mar 10, 2010
- No explosives found in suspicious package in Indonesian resort island - Mar 22, 2011
- Suspect in Hollywood publicist slaying case shoots himself - Dec 02, 2010
- Cyprus TV presenter accused of ordering boss' murder - Jun 08, 2010
- Roman Abramovich unable to dock his 'Eclipse' yacht as it is too big - Aug 25, 2011
Tags: andreas liveras, automatic rifles, bbc, best food, chartered yacht, frame of mind, greek yachting, grenades, hospital spokesman, hotel staff, indian woman, locked room, multiple times, mumbai terror attack, nerves, nicosia cyprus, sandwiches, spokesman said that, st georges hospital, tragic death, tycoons
