Four Australians killed in Mumbai terror attacks

Mumbai: Indian authorities here have claimed that terrorists have killed four Australians.

Two of the four declared dead have been identified as timber merchant Brett Taylor, 49, a resident of Turramurra, on Sydney''s north shore, and Doug Markell, 71, a former deputy mayor at Woollahra Council, in Sydney''s east.

A 50-year-old woman was also on the list of dead, the Herald Sun reports.

Fox News quoted the Maharashtra Home Ministry as saying that the death toll included at least four Australians, a Japanese, an Italian, a Briton and a German.

Markell, a former businessman, was holidaying in the city with his wife. She is thought to be staying at the Australian embassy. Markell''s sons are travelling to Mumbai to be with their mother Alison, a family spokeswoman told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said today that up to 26 Australians were believed to have been in two hotels targeted in the terror attacks.

Acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean said Australia should expect the worst, with the Australian death toll anticipated to rise.