Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the Oberoi-Trident Hotel in Mumbai.

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Meanwhile at the nearby Trident Oberoi, as many as 100 hostages were reported still to be held.

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The two hotels caught up in the attacks, the Trident-Oberoi and Taj Mahal Palace, reopened for business on Sunday.

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Regular fire drills for all 1, 300 people who work at the Oberoi and the adjoining Trident hotel certainly saved lives: During the first two hours the staff, familiar with all the exits, guided 200 guests to safety.

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To build the Oberoi Sheraton (now known as the Trident) in 1972, the first rival to the opulent Taj hotel, he reclaimed land under water in the Bay of Bombay.

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His ambitious goal: reopening the 550-room Trident on Dec. 21 and the 330-room Oberoi, which suffered the brunt of the attack, by May or June.

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