Friday, August 26 2005 20:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Police fired for more than 30 seconds at a Brazilian killed in a London train in the mistaken belief that he was a suicide bomber, a witness told an independent panel investigating the incident.

The witness, a freelance journalist, said the shots were fired at Jean Charles de Menezes at intervals of three seconds and that she ran for her life fearing terrorists had opened fire on commuters, the Guardian newspaper reported.

The journalist Sue Thomason said 11 shots were fired -a fact, which was not made public at that time.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the death of the innocent Brazilian, who was mistaken for a suicide bomber.