( CNN ) -- They were fathers and daughters , tycoons and spiritualists , Westerners and Asians , who were in Mumbai for different reasons . But they met the same fate in the indiscriminate path of gunfire and explosions in a string of terror attacks across the Indian city this week . Kia Scherr , left , has told CNN that her husband , Alan Scherr , and daughter Naomi were killed in Mumbai . At least 183 people were killed this week in attacks on several high-traffic landmarks , many of which tourists frequent . Their deaths have torn families and communities apart , and many more have yet to be confirmed . Small snapshots of the victims have begun to emerge , most of them pertaining to foreigners . Limited reports have circulated about victims from India . A father and daughter from a Virginia meditation group were among five Americans confirmed dead , the U.S. State Department said Friday . Kia Scherr told CNN on Friday that her husband , Alan , 58 , and daughter , Naomi , 13 , were killed . She said she knew her husband and daughter were dining at the Oberoi , a Mumbai hotel , when gunfire broke out Wednesday night . Scherr said she last spoke to them Thursday . Watch friends tell the story of the Scherrs ' visit to Mumbai » . The father and daughter had been in India since November 17 and were due to leave Monday , Scherr said . A spokeswoman for The Synchronicity Foundation , a meditation group based near Charlottesville , Virginia , said the two were among 25 members of the group who were visiting India . The other Synchronicity people who were staying at the Oberoi `` are accounted for and safe , '' the group 's Web site said . Hemant Karkare , Anti-Terrorism Squad chief for Maharashtra state , was among at least 16 members of Indian law enforcement officers killed in the attacks . Mumbai is in Maharashtra . Karkare was leading an offensive against gunmen late Wednesday when he was shot three times in the chest , CNN sister network CNN-IBN reported . Karkare , who joined the Indian Police Service in 1982 , became ATS chief in January after spending seven years in Austria at the Research and Analysis Wing , Indian 's external foreign intelligence agency , according to CNN-IBN . Five hostages , including a rabbi and his wife , were killed in a standoff at the Chabad House , said Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin , a spokesman for Chabad-Lubavitch International in the United States . Watch : Rabbi and wife killed in Mumbai » . Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg , the city 's envoy for the community , and his wife , Rivka , had been held hostage at the Chabad House , known as the Nariman House in Mumbai . The building houses the Mumbai headquarters of the Chabad community , a Hasidic Jewish movement . Gavriel Holtzberg , 29 , was born in Israel and moved to Brooklyn , New York , with his parents when he was 9 . Rivka , 28 , was a native of Afula , Israel , the organization said . Watch the Chabad community in New York react » . The Holtzbergs arrived in Mumbai in 2003 to serve the Jewish community there , Chabad-Lubavitch International said . `` As emissaries to Mumbai , Gabi and Rivky gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists , '' said Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky , vice chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch , the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch , in a statement . Gavriel Holtzberg made a phone call to the Israeli Consulate to report that gunmen were in his house , the organization said . `` In the middle of the conversation , the line went dead , '' the organization said . It did not say when the phone call took place . A cook at the center , who had barricaded herself in a room , grabbed the couple 's son and escaped with another person , the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported . The boy 's 2nd birthday is Saturday , said Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky , chairman of the Educational and Social Services arms of the Chabad-Lubavitch Movement . `` Today , he became an orphan , '' Krinsky said at a news conference in New York . Watch as Krinsky vows the Chabad community will raise the child » . The couple 's other child was not in Mumbai at the time and is safe , Krinsky said . Among others confirmed dead : . CNN 's Zain Verjee and Emanuella Grinberg contributed to this report .
NEW : Two Canadians , yachting tycoon , sister of Bollywood actor among dead . Naomi Scherr , wife Rivka confirmed dead at Chabad House in Bollywood . Virginians Naomi Scherr and daughter Naomi Scherr killed , family member says . CNN chief killed in offensive , CNN sister network CNN says .