An American Father and His Teenage Daughter Are Mumbai Victims

Nov. 28, 2008 — -- At least two Americans, a father and his 13-year-old daughter, died in the Mumbai massacre and at least three others were wounded, ABC News has confirmed.

The bodies of Alan Scherr, 58, and his daughter, Naomi, 13, have been identified and their families notified, according to Bobbie Garvey, staff member of Synchronicity.

The group, which is based in Virginia, advocates a spiritual education and was holding semiars in Mumbai.

The number of American dead and wounded may grow.

An American rabbi and his wife, both from New York, were trapped inside a building where terrorists were holed up. The building is currently being assaulted by Indian commandoes. A woman who escaped from the building on the first day of the assault said the couple was last seen lying on the floor unconscious.

Andi Varagona and a friend, both of Nashville, Tenn., were in the Oberoi Hotel ballroom at about 11 p.m. local time Wednesday with a group of Americans, Australians and South Americans when gunmen burst in and opened fire.

Varagona's husband, Santos Lopez, was at a family member's home working on his Thanksgiving Day turkey when he got a call from his wife in India.

"[My wife told me] one of the members of the party thought he heard gunfire and he stood up to see what was happening. Immediately this person tells the others: 'Somebody's coming and firing a gun.' They all stood up and began to run," Lopez told ABC News.

"They started running toward a man who was standing next to my wife, a friend of hers," said Lopez.

"She believes he was shot in the head."

Lopez said that his wife described being covered in the man's blood.

"The other companion friend of hers was shot in the back," said Lopez, describing the woman as his wife's travel roommate. "At that point I'm not sure exactly ... run away from the gunman or the gunman went somewhere else.

"[She said] I've been shot and I'm covered in blood from somebody else," said Lopez.

"She's pretty sure that the man that was shot next to her died, which was a big shock for her," said Lopez, who did not know the victim's identity.

He said Varagona suffered a shrapnel wound to her neck – presumably from a grenade – and also suffered bullet wounds to her arm and leg.

Because doctors had to cut off her clothes to operate, Lopez said his wife was left without anything to wear, so he was looking for clothing as he got ready to board a flight to India.

"I'm going to be at the airport in Newark, N.J., trying to find some 'Welcome to Newark' T-shirts or sweatpants or something for her," he said.

Lopez described his wife as a marathon runner who had been meditating for 22 years, a pastime that kept her nerves in check during stressful situations.

"She's Italian so she's very, very passionate, but by the same token she's a very calm person," said Lopez. "She was more terrified about the person that was killed next to her."

American Rabbi Held Hostage in Jewish Center

U.S. State Department spokesman Rob McInturff told ABC News that the department was aware of three Americans having been wounded in the assault. But with at least 125 dead and more than 300 injured, it is possible the number of American casualties could grow.

Sources tell ABC News that the United States is aware of more casualties than the three injured Americans they have already acknowledged.

Lopez was able to speak to his wife before she went into surgery at a Mumbai hospital.

"You always have in the back of you mind what if, what I what if," said Lopez. "But I really never expected something like this to happen to her."

"The next thing I know I was on my knees and felt like all my blood turned to ice and I was-- my world was crashing around me."

Varagona, who runs a holistic health clinic in Nashville and also uses the Hindu name Rudrani Devi, and her friend had been traveling in Mumbai on a combination business trip and pilgrimage.

The U.S. consulate in Mumbai remains open, and officials continue to search for Americans in local hospitals, according to McInturff.

Gavriel Holtzberg, a 29-year-old rabbi from Brooklyn, N.Y., and his wife Rivka were taken hostage during an attack on Chabad House, an outreach center for the Lubavitch Jewish sect.

Sandra Samuel, 44, is a cook who worked in Chabad House. She escaped and pulled the Holtzberg's 2-year-old boy out the building. The boy was unharmed but his clothes were soaked with blood.

Samuel said she saw the Holtzberg couple and two other unidentified guests lying on the floor, apparently "unconscious."

Indian officials reported that eight hostages had been released from Chabad House, but the Associated Press reported that a diplomat monitoring the standoff said no hostages had emerged.

ABC News' Kirit Radia and The Associated Press contributed to this report