Brooke Satchwell Trapped In Mumbai!

Not that having a vaguely famous Australian involved in things makes the events unfolding in Mumbai more terrifying or anything, but I was rather surprised to learn that former Neighbours star Brooke Satchwell was one of the folks hiding from terrorists at the Taj Hotel. Perhaps because it’s like hearing that Jason Donovan or the Goggomobil guy from the Yellow Pages ads was involved – your first thought is “What?! Why are they in India?! What have I missed?!”

Calling it a harrowing experience for Brooke and the folks with her would be an understatement to say the least.

Melbourne actor Brooke Satchwell has told how she hid in a bathroom cupboard for an hour while machine gun-wielding terrorists went on a deadly rampage through Mumbai’s Taj Hotel.

The former Neighbours star – who is in India on a three-week film shoot – told Radio 3AW she ran past dead bodies as she fled the Taj Hotel.

A shaken Satchwell told Radio 3AW she had been at the Taj Hotel for a production meeting. While she was in the hotel bathroom, she heard gunfire outside.

The actor said terrified guests locked themselves in toilet cubicles as bodies lay outside and “people were being shot in the hallways. The staff let us hide in a service cupboard between the two bathrooms. We sat in there listening to maching gun fire.

“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.”

“There was a lot of confusion, no one really knew what was going on and we all felt a bit like sitting ducks. An hour later, some of the hotel security came and ushered us very quickly down the corridor and out across the lobby because no one had a very good idea of what was going on. At this stage I didn’t see any police present and I ran down the steps past a few more dead bodies.”

At least Brooke and her companions are now safe. Other Australians are still in harms way.

Steve Smith called the Seven Network from a small room at the back of the Taj Mahal hotel where he’s hiding after seeing two gunman toss grenades into the restaurant where he was having a beer just hours earlier.

He says after throwing grenades into the restaurant the gunmen opened fire for about ten minutes with AK-47 assault rifles.

Mr Smith’s interview was cut short so he could be put in contact with Foreign Affairs in the hope they might be able to help him escape.

Good god! There’s not really more I can to add to this, so let’s just send our thoughts and prayers to the folks in Mumbai.

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