An Indian-origin Briton was among those killed in the terror attack on a Kenyan mall after he offered himself as hostage to Islmaist militants to save young children.
Mitul Shah, 38, reportedly offered himself as hostage to the terrorists to facilitate the escape of young children taking part in a TV cooking competition at the Westgate mall that was stormed by Al Shabab militants.
The Foreign Office today confirmed six Britons, including Shah, were among the 72 people known to have been killed in the four-day attack. It said it cannot rule out the possibility of further casualties.
"Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
Shah, the London-born sales and marketing executive of Kenyan cooking oil firm Bidco Oil, was in charge of his company-sponsored food event and was killed on Saturday, the first day of the atrocity in Nairobi.
Dipak Shah, a director of the company, said colleagues were feeling a "profound sense of loss" and offering their sympathies to his wife Rupal and two-year-old daughter Sarai.
"We are in constant contact with them. They are devastated, as are we all. He was there with the kids, as a representative as we were a sponsor of the programme," he told the 'Evening Standard' from Nairobi.
"He was trying to negotiate the freedom of the children in order for him to be taken as a hostage. Some had managed to save their lives but unfortunately he, and others, did not.
"It was a heroic and brave act - a true reflection of his soul. He was a wonderful person who always went out of his way, beyond the call of duty, to help others," he added.
Forensic experts have been combing the complex, looking for bodies and clues, since the siege ended on Tuesday.
Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the attack, which the Al Qaeda-linked Somali group has claimed responsibility for.
