Former Athlone Town star caught up in Mumbai attacks

Former Athlone Town star Stefan Feniuk is recovering at home after spending twelve hours under siege in the hotel at the centre of the Mumbai terror attacks last week. Stefan, who was a key member of the Town"s league-winning teams in the early 1980s, was coming to terms with his ordeal this week. 'I"m just grateful to have gotten out of there safely,' he told the Westmeath Independent yesterday (Tuesday). He was staying at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel on a business trip with his employer Ericsson when the attacks began last Wednesday. Terrorists entered the hotel bar, where Stefan was having a drink with colleagues, and shot one of the individuals in the room. Staff quickly led Stefan and a group of up to 60 hotel guests up a spiral staircase into a room on the sixth floor. The group spent twelve hours there before the Indian army entered and they were able to exit the hotel. Stefan had to leave all of his belongings behind and, after arranging a flight through an embassy, he returned home in the same clothes he was wearing when the attacks began. Married to Athlone native Valerie, Stefan lived in Meadowbrook, Willow Park, for over a decade. Along with Valerie and their two sons, he currently lives in Shoreham-By-Sea, near Brighton. Valerie stated that Stefan was fortunate to have been accompanied by two fantastic colleagues at the time of the attacks, and she praised the response of the hotel"s staff and of Ericsson. 'He"s very lucky to be alive,' she commented. Last week"s trip was Stefan"s fourth business excursion to Mumbai this year, and he stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel on each occasion. After spending a few days recovering, he is hopeful that he"ll soon be able to return to work. A full-back with Athlone Town, Stefan played a prominent role in Turlough O"Connor"s successful team in the 1980s and he lined out for the club in famous European clashes against KB Copenhagen and Standard Liege. Valerie stated that there had been a tremendous response from friends and relatives in Athlone since the events of last week and she wished to publicly thank everyone in this area for their support.