It was Nov. 26, 2008, and The Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai, India, was under attack.
Michael Beagelman, CEO of London-based MB Private Clients, received an unexpected call with the news. Two of his clients — who were celebrating their honeymoon — were trapped inside the hotel.
As the seconds ticked by, more details started to flood in: The hotel had been bombed, then stormed by a group of heavily armed terrorists representing Lashkar-e Taiba, an Islamic militant group based in Pakistan. The newlyweds, who communicated with Beagelman via text messages, had barricaded themselves in a room with a hotel employee, who, in an attempt to lead the couple to safety, had been shot in a spray of machine-gun fire.
Beagelman’s next move would prove critical if he wanted to get his clients out alive. He alerted the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the couple’s whereabouts, called a crisis hotline and worked to orchestrate their safe release by the Indian army.
“During this, you’re sort of one step removed,” Beagelman said. “The key is being able to move very quickly — if you take on the stress, you can’t deal with the problem.”
Read the full article at Travel Age West
