As NSG commandos launched their final assault at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, NDTV's Shaili Chopra sent us a report describing the action on the ground.

We lie on the floor. Our hands have mikes, theirs have guns.

Everyone has taken position and there's no end to the terrorist encounter at the Taj Mahal Palace outside the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

The journalists and the forces are tracking the attack. There are reports of two terrorists inside with some hostages.

Combat teams, paramilitary forces and the terrorists opened fire three times in the last one hour.

The windows are broken, curtains flinging out of the rooms, the insides of the Taj, on day three of the encounter, remain abandoned.

The police says one or two terrorists are holed up at the Crystal Ballroom in Taj along with a few hostages.

Some people have been evacuated, others are inside rooms where the police is trying to reach. The lobby and porch are also key points of attack as police gherao that.

The noises are sharp, the firing is intense and the scenes are hard to forget as pigeons fly in fear across the sky, changing the skyline, that's today filled with continuing smoke and sadness.