India official says 20-30 people may be hostages

NEW DELHI, Nov 27 (Reuters) - A senior India home ministry official said on Thursday that 20-30 people could still be held hostage in the Trident/Oberoi hotel in Mumbai after attacks by militants.

"Twenty to thirty people are expected to be still hostage at Oberoi hotel....Exact number is not known," M.L. Kumawat, special secretary for internal security at the home ministry, told a news conference.

He said that the 21st to the 8th floors in the Oberoi has been cleared by security agencies, while the ground floor to the 4th floor at the Taj hotel has also been also cleared. (Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Alistair Scrutton)