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Briton killed after describing events to BBC

The founder of a luxury charter yachting business was on Friday named among those killed in Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, dying from gunshot wounds within minutes of telling the BBC about the unfolding drama on his mobile phone.

  • Financial Times
  • Published: 23:24 November 28, 2008
  • Gulf News

London: The founder of a luxury charter yachting business was on Friday named among those killed in Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, dying from gunshot wounds within minutes of telling the BBC about the unfolding drama on his mobile phone.

Andreas Liveras, a Cypriot-born British national, was in India on business, the Cypriot foreign ministry said.

Liveras had told the BBC he was in the hotel for a meal and hid under the table when he heard machine-gun fire. "All we know is the bombs are next door and the hotel is shaking every time a bomb goes off. Everybody is just living on their nerves," he said.

Self-made man

Aged 72, Liveras emigrated to London with his family 45 years ago, working as a deliveryman for Fleur de Lys, a bakery business he bought and established as a major independent manufacturer in frozen patisserie, before selling it in 1985 to Express Dairies.

The deal enabled him to indulge his passion for yachts, setting up Liveras Yachts, based in Monaco, which has bought and sold 13 vessels and which charters two yachts to the luxury market at a rate of Dh474,149 a day.

Their facilities include a gymnasium, jacuzzis and marble Roman baths.

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