Mumbai railway announcer saves lives in station attack

[John Ashworth]

Bosses commend Mumbai railway announcer
iol
December 01 2008 at 02:15PM

New Delhi - It was not only the brave policemen who protected people from the savage terrorist attacks in Mumbai. An announcer at the city's main railway station, where terrorists struck, held his calm to save the lives of many commuters.

Vishnu Zende, 37, was on duty on Wednesday night at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway terminus, one of the first places hit by the terrorists soon after they reached Mumbai's shores by boat.

In an interview with The Hindu newspaper, Zende said he heard loud explosions and later saw people at the far end of the station fleeing from indiscriminate gunfire by terrorists.

"I made repeated announcements to people to vacate the station from the entrance on platform 1, which was next to the main road," said Zende, who works in a cabin above the station master's office on the main concourse.

"Soon people who were puzzled by this calm announcement went out of the platform. There was no stampede or rush and no one got hurt," he told the newspaper.

But two terrorists later walked into the area and fired from their automatic weapons at Zende's cabin.

One of the bullets went through the glass front and exited through a plywood partition, he said, adding that the terrorists moved on after firing.

"My main aim was to stop the commuters from panicking. I was happy I had ensured at least the safety of those commuters," said Zende, who has been commended by railway authorities for his presence of mind. - Sapa-dpa

[John Ashworth]

MUMBAI TERROR
Railways Africa
Friday, 05 December 2008

Train services resumed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in Mumbia, nearly six hours after it was closed following a series of terrorist attacks in the city at around midnight on 26/27 November, the Times of India reported. The station, formerly known as the Victoria Terminus, was besieged after suspected terrorists launched yet another series of planned and synchronised attacks in the heart of India's financial capital. CST is one of the city's two busiest railway stations and also a World Heritage site.