Burari collapse: A tale of tomatoes, love and survival

At 3am on Wednesday, the four were pulled out from the collapsed house in Burari -- where five people were killed, and 16 rescued

New Delhi

Rescue work underway for a third day. (PTI)

Just as Rajesh Kumar got ready to cook dinner for his family of four on Monday, he heard a loud thud and before he knew it, the building collapsed, burying him under debris. For over 30 hours, Kumar, 26, his wife Gangotri, 24, their two children Prince, 6, and Ritik, 2, were stuck sideways under rubble – with nothing but three tomatoes and a prayer on their lips to keep them going.

At 3am on Wednesday, the four were pulled out from the collapsed house in Burari -- where five people were killed, and 21 rescued -- by a team of firefighters who had spent over a day devising ways to rescue the family. The under-construction four-storey building had fallen like a pack of cards around 6.30pm on Monday, burying with it masons, labourers, and families of two guards who were employed there. An FIR was filed against the owner of the building, Yogender Bhati, who was arrested on Tuesday.

“I will never forget what happened…We had to keep lying down sideways and had no space to sit or move. There were times I felt like giving up but I saw the faces of my children and wife. We kept pushing things to create space and breathe. We tried to sleep... I kept talking to my wife and children to encourage them, and I prayed to lord Shiva,” said Kumar, outside the Burari government hospital, where his wife is undergoing treatment for a fracture she suffered. Kumar and his children are stable.

“When the lintel (beam) fell, we ducked close to the cooking cylinder where there was space. My wife was hurt as a huge block of cement had fallen on her leg. She could not move. I kept hugging her and consoling her. Luckily, our children were in our arms. I didn’t leave Prince for a moment. We did everything we could to save our children. I had three tomatoes which I fed them. My wife and Ritik were crying and wailing but Prince was calm. I too tried to keep calm as I knew it would take fire officials a lot of time to reach us.When I saw a man over us, we started shaking the conduit pipe. We screamed but no one could hear us... We kept touching each other to ensure everyone was fine,” recalled Kumar.

DCP (north) Raja Banthia said, “We were told that a lintel fell on a gas cylinder creating space in between and trapping this family inside. They were rescued and are under treatment.”

A miraculous recovery

The FIR filed by the Delhi police against Bhati claimed that cracks had developed in the pillars a few days ago, and he had been informed about them by building guard, Lalta Prasad. Among the dead are Prasad’s two daughters. In his complaint to the police, he claimed that Bhati chose to ignore his complaints.Police added the building was also built on a DDA area without permits and comes under “unauthorised colony”.

On Wednesday evening, rescue operation by the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was still on. “We suspect that two-three people are still trapped under the rubble,” said Raja Banthia, deputy commissioner of police, north.

Fire official Suman Kumar told HT that the building had more rebar (steel bar) than cement. “It is tough to break the rebars and we had to slowly and carefully carry away lintel and debris to move towards the victims. Around 1 am, I heard loud banging from one side. It was an electric conduit pipe which was shaking inside... We then heard ‘bachao bachao’. The family was shaking the pipe to alert us.”

Gangotri said it was her who was screaming for help. From the hospital bed, she said, “I thought I would die. I couldn’t move…I was in so much pain that I couldn’t talk but my husband and children gave me hope. My sons are angels. They didn’t cry much and stayed calm. They held onto us. I screamed loudly and the firefighters heard me and rescued us.” 

Kumar, the DSF official, said as the lintel then had broken into two parts, which created a void and the family stayed there. “It was a miracle... We assumed we will pull out more dead bodies but that was not the case. When we saw the family, we drilled a hole and pulled out the man and his children first. His wife was stuck because of debris on her foot. She too was pulled out after a firefighter went inside the void.”

The DFS officials said that Kumar’s six-year-old son had a wide smile on his face when he was pulled out. “I teared up when I saw the boy. He hugged his father, and just kept smiling,” said the official. The father of the two boys said that once rescued, his priority was assuring his wife got immediate medical care, and putting his two-year-old son to sleep.

“Riitik could not sleep inside. So, we ensured he slept as soon as we were pulled out. I don’t know what happened to Prince. He was confident that we would come out. I just want my family in Bandha, Rajasthan to know that I am fine. I don’t have my phone or anything. All we did was pray and god protected us.” said Rajesh.