TORONTO - Ever since learning his brother accidentally stumbled across the chaotic scene of terror unfolding in Mumbai, Pandip Ansuya Gaur has being praying thanks to God he escaped uninjured.

A priest at the Hindu Prarthana Samaj temple in downtown Toronto, Gaur said the first thing he did after getting word of the attacks in India was call to find out whether his brother and family were safe.

"He was shivering, when I talked to him," Gaur said. "I made him say 'Don't worry, thank God you are alive."'

Gaur's brother was walking with his friends through the popular tourist area that was targeted when he came across several of the gunmen.

"He told me first they started firing into the sky. And throwing the grenades wherever no people are there," he said.

"They want to demoralize the public. And if somebody is not obeying them, then they (shot) at them. He saw people dying, he saw at least three people were dying on the road -- for nothing."

As details on the terrorism attacks in Mumbai filters in, Indo-Canadians are frantically working the phones to check on loved ones overseas and connecting with each other in Canada in an attempt to learn more.

Kripa Sekhar dialed up her niece, who lives in the city, late Wednesday night and was relieved to find out she's OK. She said deep concern has quickly spread through the community in Canada.

"Anyone from India here has family and friends from that area. This has affected every Indian," said Sekhar, executive director of the Toronto-based South Asian Women's Centre.

"All of us were glued to the television for most of the night, and talking to family members back home, because it does affect us.

Sekhar said she has "never felt so deeply about something."

"It's hitting a lot of us -- I mean, everybody is talking. This is something that has really got the core of the Indian community."

Authorities say 110 people were killed and more than 300 injured when terrorists attacked 10 sites in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Vancouver playwright and novelist Anosh Irani, who is presently visiting his parents' home not far from the attack site, says his life was saved by a soccer match.

Irani, 34, had been planning to go for drinks with friends at Cafe Leopold -- one of the first places to be hit by blasts -- when his attention was grabbed by a live game at a nearby field instead.

"I was supposed to go to that area, actually, because that's a popular place where people like to hang out. So I'm very lucky," he said.

Having lived in the area in the early 1990s when Muslim extremists destroyed a mosque in his neighbourhood, he said he expected, at some point, that violence would occur again.

"Even back then, I knew the city was changing and one day the city would not be safe," he said.

"(The terrorists are) sending out a clear message this place is not safe for foreigners. They want to discourage people from coming to Mumbai."

Schools, colleges and shops are closed and the public is tuned into local news coverage of the attacks, said Edmonton resident Shabnam Sukhdev, who owns an apartment in Mumbai but is presently in the nearby city of Pune with her daughter.

Citizens are already frustrated by the lack of adequate security, and this violence amplifies their concerns, she said.

"The people here are saying normally all these (violent incidents) impact the poor people here, and this is the first time it is impacting the rich, the very important people," she said.

"So hopefully some action will be taken now. People are very cynical about any action being taken by authorities."