By IANS,
Toronto : Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon has confirmed the death of a second Canadian citizen in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that have claimed 148 lives. Among the injured Canadians is Hollywood actor Michael Rudder.
Earlier, Cannon had said that only one Canadian had died in the strike. Though the minister did not identify the second Canadian victim, reports have identified him as Michael Moss, a doctor from Montreal.
Moss, who came to Canada from Britain in the 1960s, was on his second visit to India since October.
Cannon said: “On behalf of all Canadians and the government of Canada, I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased. The next of kin have been notified, and our consular officers have put themselves at their service.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time.”
Earlier in the day, the foreign minister had confirmed that “of the 20 Canadians accounted for by our officials in Mumbai in the unsafe hotels, 17 are now safe, two were injured and one is deceased”.
He did not give the name of the victim for privacy reasons.
“Concerning the two injured Canadians, one who suffered only minor injuries has been released from the hospital. The other Canadian has suffered more serious injuries and is in intensive care but in stable condition,” the minister said.
The Synchronicity Foundation, a Virginia-based meditation group that had taken many US and Canadian citizens to India, had told the Canadian Press that Hollywood star Rudder was shot when terrorists stormed one of the hotels in Mumbai.
A Synchronicity representative said Rudder underwent surgery in an intensive care unit after three gunshot wounds. Rudder, who has acted alongside Johnny Depp and Eddie Murphy in many Hollywood movies and was nominated for a Genie award for best-supporting actor in 1989 for the film “Buying Time” is said to be now recovering.