Sabina Sehgal Saikia, the food critic for the India Times, was staying at Mumbai’s plush Taj hotel for a wedding reception when the terrorists struck on Wednesday. The large fire at the hotel – a result of the attacks – largely gutted the floor she was staying on. She texted her husband early Thursday morning, saying she was trapped in the washroom, and that was the last time she was heard from. Her body was recovered from her room this morning.

Sabina, consulting editor with the TOI and a noted food critic, had been SMSing her family and friends till past Wednesday midnight, after which they lost contact with her.

A massive fire has gutted major portions of the floor she was in. Till late Friday night, her husband Shantanu Saikia, who is also a journalist, was “hoping against hope” that she would be found alive. But that was not to be.

Sabina leaves behind her husband and two children – a daughter aged 14 and son aged 11.

She had texted her husband for the last time at 2 a.m. Thursday to say she was trapped inside a bathroom.

Sabina had gone to the hotel late on Wednesday to attend a wedding when terrorists stormed the hotel, firing at guests and holding several hostage. The standoff between the terrorists and security forces ended on Saturday morning.