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A British businessman told last night how he rescued 150 hostages from inside the Taj Mahal Palace.

As terrorists stormed the hotel slaughtering guests, brave Deepak Kuntawala rounded up men and women and shepherded them into a room before turning the lights off and ordering them to lie on the floor.

After a terrifying four hours in darkness with thick black smoke filling the room, brave Deepak led them to safety using makeshift ropes made from curtains.

Even after his elderly British father Vinay plunged 30ft, Deepak continued his selfless mission to save others.

Last night in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror Deepak, 36 from Cheam, Surrey, said: "We had a choice - to remain in the room as the gunfire got close to us or break out.

"I don't know why I did what I did, but somewhere a voice in the back of my mind told me what needed to be done. One thing was for sure, I wasn't going to let the terrorists win."

With Deepak at his hospital bedside, his dad Vinay, 68, who could be crippled for life, said: "My son's a hero. He saved me and all those other people and I am very proud of him."

Deepak arrived at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai last Sunday for a short holiday with his father who was celebrating his retirement.

The pair were dining in the hotel's Sea Lounge bar, which overlooks the harbour, when the terrorists struck.

Financier Deepak said: "I looked out into the harbour and saw a few boats coming ashore.

"They were full of hunched men, dressed in black. It reminded me of a scene in the film Under Siege." The terrorists stormed ashore and into the hotel, guns blazing.

Screaming guests ran into the bar from a barbecue in the courtyard and within seconds Deepak rounded everyone up - including 20 Unilever executives - and ushered them into a large room on the first floor. He bolted the door, hauled a table against it and pulled the curtains.

"A lot of people fearing they wouldn't get out alive were in tears phoning their wives and children to say goodbye."

Deepak phoned his wife Rupe and sister Maya in Surrey and warned them of the situation.

He and his dad hid their passports and driving licences under a rug after hearing the terrorists were targeting Britons.

He peeked out of the window and saw police being shot as they tried to storm the hotel.

"Eventually smoke started coming into our room and the floor was constantly rocking from the grenades and shooting going on above, below and next to us," said Deepak. "No-one knew what to do, so I took charge.

"We tore up the curtains and any material we could get our hands on. I made people get into four teams and pretty quickly we had our makeshift ropes ready.

"We tied them to pillars. People were fighting to go down first. But I restored calm and made sure people got down OK, starting with the elderly and then the women. It took 30 minutes."