Even as gunfire and grenades were going off at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel, Raymond Bickson stood his ground.

As CEO of the company that owns the 105-year-old, five-star resort, the 1973 Saint Louis High School graduate was a likely target for terrorists gunning for American and British citizens.

But Bickson remained at the hotel for most of the siege and only left after a commando team freed him.

"Employees were dying. He had to stay," said his mother, Joan Bickson.

In one of the deadliest terror attacks in India's financial capital, gunmen took scores of hostages throughout Mumbai, killing at least 119 people and wounding 288.

Among the dead were workers and guests of the Taj Mahal.

The terror attacks left many Hawai'i residents such as the Bickson family wondering about the safety of their loved ones in Mumbai.

Bickson, 52, is well regarded in the international hotel industry. Last year, he was named corporate hotelier of the world by Hotels magazine.

His father Irwin "Bick" Bickson was one of the four co-founders of Budget Rent A Car in Chicago and was a pioneer in Hawai'i's tourism industry.

Raymond Bickson has lived in Mumbai since 2003 and serves as managing director and CEO of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, which owns the Taj Mahal Hotel

Joan Bickson said her son was not taken hostage and was not hurt.

She said her son and his wife, Connie Bickson, were in one of the hotel's dining rooms when terrorists first attacked. He was escorted by hotel security to his office, where he remained through much of the ordeal.

She added that Connie was able to escape shortly after the shooting started.

"(They're) safe but we were all on pins and needles yesterday," added sister Beth Milici of Seattle.

Former Hawai'i resident Michael Files said he was at a restaurant across the street from the Taj Mahal hotel when the shooting erupted.

The restaurant, called the Indigo, was not attacked by terrorists.

But Files, who moved to Mumbai about a month ago, said he and other patrons had to spend the night there because it was too dangerous to be on the streets.

He said workers barricaded the restaurant, which caters to foreign visitors.

The restaurant did not have a television set for the news but he and fellow patrons kept abreast of the developments by calling friends on their cell phones.

Most of the customers were unable to sleep that night due to the danger and the noise from sirens and gunfire.

He said another restaurant he visited earlier that night was a target of the attack. He said several workers were shot at the restaurant.

"That was kind of spooky," Files said.

Mo'ili'ili resident Raj Kumar spent much of Wednesday on the phone with cousins who live in Mumbai.

Kumar, a former resident of Mumbai and New Delhi before moving to Hawai'i 20 years ago, said none of his family members was hurt but many were left shaken.

"They're saying they are very terrified and that all of the hospitals, train stations and public places are closed," said Kumar.

"The whole city has been turned into a ghost town."