A Relic Of Terror Attacks To Be Rebuilt As Luxe Hotel

Bandra resident and aviation geek Debashish Chakraverty remembers hearing stories from his pilot father of glamorous parties at Sea Rock Hotel.

- Yogesh Naik

MUMBAI: At one such party on the evening of January 1, 1978, to celebrate the new year, he heard of partygoers at the hotel's poolside watching in fascinated horror the Boeing 747 Emperor Ashoka crash into the Arabian Sea.

The Mumbai-Dubai flight had crashed two minutes after take-off from Santacruz airport, killing all 213 on board.

Chakraverty recalls himself experiencing similar horror when, on the afternoon of March 12, 1993, he heard about the blast that gutted Sea Rock Hotel. It was part of the coordinated 12 blasts that took place in the city. A terror attack that has been called India's 9/11.