Ludhiana road cave-in:Heard our screams echoing before blacking out, say victims

The victims say the road cave-in happened so abruptly after the bus passed over the spot that they could not brake; they had taken a different route to school on the day of the accident as they were running late

The siblings, who suffered injuries on their limbs and back, say they do not remember much as they blacked out immediately after falling into the crater. The only thing they heard before the blackness engulfed them were their own terrified screams.

The victims’ parents said were relieved that their children pulled through the incident without a major injury or worse. They were informed of the incident by an acquiantace who passing through the area when the road cave-in. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The victims, Mahi Malhotra and Kanav Malhotra, said they had no time to apply brakes as the road suddenly collapsed after the school bus in front of them moved. Mahi said,”Soon after falling into the crater, we blacked out and just remembered screaming. The residents came to our rescue and we were then taken to a house from where our father took us to the hospital.”

Their parents, Dr Yogesh Malhotra and Shweta Malhotra, were relieved that their children pulled through the incident without a major injury or worse. They were informed of the incident by a family friend who was passing through the area.

The children were asked to rest after their discharge from the hospital where they were provided first aid. The students, who are residents of Chhawni Mohalla, said they did not usually take the Deep Nagar route, but made an exception on the day of the mishap as they were running late.

Shweta said,” Usually my husband or I take the kids to school, but they went on their own on Thursday and also took a different route. Fortunately, they did not sustain any serious injury.”

The victims’ grandfather, Raj Malhotra, said they have not filed a complaint and are just thankful that the children came out alive from the ordeal.