Istanbul Nightclub Shooting: 2 Indians Including Filmmaker Abis Rizvi Among 39 Killed In Terror Attack

New Delhi: Union minister Sushma Swaraj today tweeted that two Indians have died in the terror attack at a nightclub in Istanbul in which 39 people died and 65 others were wounded. One of them, she said, was Abis Rizvi, the son of former lawmaker Akhtar Hasan Rizvi. The other has been identified as Khushi Shah, a resident of Gujarat.

Abis Rizvi, a noted real estate developer from Mumbai, had recently produced a Bollywood movie, Roar: The Tigers of Sundarbans.

The attack came during a New Year's Eve party at a nightclub and the victims included at least 15 foreign nationals, a Turkish minister had said. Two Lebanese and five Saudi nationals were also among those killed, authorities confirmed on Sunday.

This evening, Ms Swaraj tweeted:

I have a bad news from Turkey. We have lost two Indian nationals in the Istanbul attack. Indian Ambassador is on way to Istanbul. /1

- Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 1, 2017

The victims are Mr.Abis Rizvi son of former Rajya Sabha MP and Ms.Khushi Shah from Gujarat. /2

- Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 1, 2017

Ms Swaraj said she has spoken to Akhtar Hassan Rizvi, the father of Abis Rizvi. "He and Mrs Rizvi also want to go to Istanbul. We r organising their Visa," she tweeted. The Indian envoy in Turkey has been alerted and asked to "make all arrangements".
 Among the deceased were three French nationals, two persons from Tunisia, three persons from Jordan and a woman from Israel.

Around 700 people were at the Reina nightclub -- one of the city's most exclusive party spots -- when two men dressed as Santa Claus entered around 1.15 am and started firing at random, reported the Dogan news agency. Even before entering, they had killed a policeman and a civilian at the gate.

Television footage showed men and women rushing out in a state of shock. Others  threw themselves into the Bosphorus in panic. The attackers managed to escape and a massive manhunt has been launched for them.

Among the deceased were three French nationals, two persons from Tunisia, three persons from Jordan and a woman from Israel.