'When the doors opened, two Japanese men riding with us got out, but immediately signalled for us to go back in the lift,' he said, speaking by telephone as the violence continued to rage.

'As they got back in, a bullet hit one of the Japanese men in the back of the leg. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere. I looked up to see one of the gunmen was approaching. I tried to close the door, but the injured guy's leg was preventing it from closing.'

Mr Jones said he pulled the Japanese man's leg back into the elevator, watching the doors close even as the gunman was bearing down on them. 'I only just kept it together enough to get the door shut,' he said.

Mr Jones, 42, said he and the others in the elevator rode to the top floor - the Japanese men getting out midway - where hotel staff later advised them to seek refuge in the basement via a secure elevator.

Others weren't so lucky. Gunmen reportedly seized at least 40 hostages in both the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, targeting people with UK or US passports.

'After an hour in a ballroom, they evacuated us in groups of 10 to what they said was a safe area, although it still didn't feel very safe,' Mr Jones said. Finally, he left and got to his Mumbai office.

'One of my colleagues has drunk half a bottle of whiskey; that's how he's dealing with it.'

What: Armed men attack Mumbai

Where: Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, outside Cafe Leopold, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminusrailway station

Death toll: About 120

Hostages: About 40, mainly US, British citizens and one S'porean

S'poreans unharmed

• The Singaporean hostage managed to get in touch with family members, who then alerted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• The hostage, a Chinese Singaporean woman staying at the Oberoi Hotel, was unharmed.
• Four Singaporeans were stranded in their hotels, including two or three at the besieged Oberoi. They are safe and have not been taken hostage.