As the Taj burned

The mascot of India’s growing wealth and prosperity and the landmark that set Mumbai’s skyline apart - the Taj hotel at the Gateway of India- burned in front of our eyes.
Flames engulfed its imposing dome, that’s been the background of many a tourists’ pictures and stories on India. In what’s set to be one of the worst terrorist attacks on Indian soil, the night of 26th November, proved to be like a 9/11 for the nation.
The fire spread quickly across the heritage corridor of the Taj Mahal hotel, traditionally large and wide, with a long winding staircase. The center of the dome crumbled as we saw smoke clouds rise about the dome. Suddenly the glow of the flames gave way to dust clouds, splinters and pieces of concrete that blew, every few minutes from the dome’s top. The orange of the fire soon turned into grey clouds against a pitch dark sky.
We watched, we helped, we reached out and we reported as people climbed down in tears. As the ladders went up, there was hope but there was fear about what was really going on inside. We as journalists watched from behind the media vans, zooming in hard, to reach out to every detail.
In the glow of the fire, people in rooms were clinging on to curtains, some on the phones with family, some screaming for help but many were heard by the firemen.