'It was worse than 9/11'
2008-11-30 22:47
Johannesburg - The words "room service, housekeeping" had never sounded so sweet.
For 26 hours, seven South African Airways (SAA) cabin crew listened to bombs exploding and gunshots going off before they found each other with the aid of SMSes. Together, they sheltered in room 1415 in the Trident Oberoi hotel in Mumbai, India.
When there was a knock on the door about 10 hours later and the password "room service, housekeeping" was given, they knew they were at last going home.
Bridgitte Ntanjana, Sinikiwe Mlagisi, Ruth Moahi, Lungile Mhlongo, Abram Hatlile, Jaco Grobler and Phindinhlanhla Xaba landed at 09:24 on Saturday at OR Tambo International airport on a connecting flight via Abu Dhabi.
'We are so, so scared'
Five minutes after the attacks started on Wednesday evening, Ntanjana sent an SMS to Danny Twala, cabin crew manager, in South Africa: "We are so, so scared. We don't know what to do! They are bombing non-stop. They are killing people, 20 have been taken hostage in the lobby. Just pray for us, guys..."
Mlagisi immediately called her family. "I told them to watch TV. I'm here and I'm OK. I didn't know if it was my hotel (that was being attacked)."
From South Africa, Twala stayed in contact with the cabin crew via cellphone.
After about 26 hours, they all managed to join up in one room.
The scariest moment for Mlagisi was when they heard by SMS that cabin crew from the French airline were being held hostage on the 15th floor, the floor above them.
"For a moment everyone became quiet." But that was false information.
Security staff knocked on the door and gave the agreed-upon password at about 07:00 South African time on Friday. The cabin crew unlocked the door and were escorted from the hotel and later flew home.
Their families were waiting for them at Airways Park, the SAA head office.
Tears flowed
Chris Smyth, general operations manager, said they were in good spirits when they stepped off the plane, but the tears flowed when they saw their families.
"Now I know what an AK 47 and a hand grenade sound like, because I've heard them," Mhlongo said.
Grobler said for him, it was a worse experience than 9/11, when he was staying in a hotel about 3km from the World Trade Centre in New York.
"I knew he would live," said a smiling Njabulo Xaba, 9, shortly after his father's return.
The attacks in Mumbai claimed at least 174 lives, Sapa-AP reported.
Apart from the Oberoi hotel, the Taj Mahal hotel, Café Leopold, the Cama hospital, Nariman House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station were targeted.