( CNN ) -- Carol Mackoff and her family were rescued Friday morning after being trapped in their rooms in the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai for more than 48 hours . A text message from CNN correspondent Sara Sidner to Mackoff , who was in contact with CNN during the attack . `` They informed us the final assault was beginning and we got a call from the colonel of the [ Indian ] army , and he said we will give you a password and if we come to the door and give it to you , come quietly with us , '' Mackoff said . `` That 's exactly what happened . '' Upon arrival , the Indian army rescued six people at a time , Mackoff said . `` It was only what we could carry , '' she said . `` They took us down a back service stairway that was very quiet . We were tiptoeing through glass and blood and discarded shoes from people who it appeared had recently died . '' Mackoff , her husband , sister and friend were on a three-week trip to India . `` In the beginning , we heard shots and we did n't know what was happening , '' she told CNN by phone . `` We saw men running down our hallway and we could see through the peephole in the door -- we could see guns in their hands . '' Mackoff said they received a call from hotel staffers telling them to stay away from the door and lock it . For 20 hours they sat in the dark . At one point they taped the peephole so nobody could see in . The Chicago , Illinois , resident said the attackers rang their doorbell twice , but she and her family did n't answer . Listen to Mackoff describe what it was like inside the hotel » . `` We locked every possible lock on the door and put heavy suitcases against it , '' she said . `` When the explosions started and smoke filled the hallways we put towels at the bottom of the door . '' She said she was told that attackers opened doors across the hallway and had thrown grenades inside . `` All we were thinking was 'Please do n't try and blow this door open , ' '' Mackoff said . Mackoff said because of the hotel wing 's large atrium , which reaches from the bottom floor to the top floor , the sounds of gunshots and explosions echoed and reverberated throughout the two days . She said looking through the peephole she could see that most of the attackers were carrying backpacks . `` They were young and they all seemed to have the same kind of jackets and red and blue backpacks , that we were told officials believed were stuffed with grenades or some sort of explosives , '' she told CNN . `` We were able to see the barrel of their gun and at one point one of them had a cell phone and was conversing or coordinating with someone . '' While she was trapped , Mackoff exchanged text messages with the U.S. Consulate , which coordinated the rescue with the Indian Army . The four were told the exact time they would be rescued . Mackoff also kept in contact with CNN , including correspondent Sara Sidner , who was reporting from outside the Taj Mahal Hotel . Watch Sara Sidner report on the rescue , talk about being Mackoff 's lifeline » . A CNN staff member `` kept me filled in on what was going on and I kept her filled in on what was going on -- on what I could hear , '' Mackoff said . Those contacts were Mackoff 's only lifeline to the outside . She said the satellite connection had been cut , so they could n't watch TV to see what was going on . Throughout the 48 hours they were trapped , Mackoff and her companions ate chocolate chip cookies from the minibar , health bars they had brought from home and cashew nuts . Finally , when Mackoff and her family and friend were rescued , she sent a message to CNN to say she was safe . `` It does n't seem real . You ca n't take it in , '' Mackoff said as she sat on a plane waiting to go home . `` It 's a surreal experience , you do n't believe it really happened to you . ''
NEW : Carol Mackoff said they went down back stairs over night , stopped to drink . Family stayed in contact with the Consulate , CNN through text messages . Mackoff : ` ` We saw men running down our hallway ... we could hear guns '' Woman said attackers rang doorbell , then stuck heavy suitcases against door .