Stuck in debris for over half-an-hour: injured cook says following Bhiwandi building collapse

For over half-an-hour, Mohammad Jehangir Shaikh, 32, was battling for his life as he was trapped under the debris; he was pulled out and lived to tell the tale after the building collapse in Bhiwandi; Shaikh, a cook in Ajmeri Chicken, a small eatery at Koterget in Bhiwandi, lives along with six others who also work in the eatery in two adjacent rooms

For over half-an-hour, Mohammad Jehangir Shaikh, 32, was battling for his life as he was trapped under the debris of the ground-plus-one-storeyed building that collapsed on Tuesday.

Mohammad Jehangir Shaikh, one of the six injured in the Bhiwandi building collapse on Tuesday, receiving treatment at a hospital. (PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT PHOTO)

Shaikh, a cook in Ajmeri Chicken, a small eatery at Koterget in Bhiwandi, lives along with six others who also work in the eatery in two adjacent rooms. Shaikh’s wife and daughter reside in Bihar while he came to Bhiwandi to earn a living.

A wall fell on his shoulder and he was completely stuck inside. Only his face was visible.

Shaikh said, “We all returned late at night after closing the eatery and were sleeping when the incident occurred. We usually prepare for the dishes in this room and take them to the hotel. I had no time to escape when the wall fell on me. Some of my colleagues pulled me out half-an-hour later.”

He has suffered injuries on his hip, abdomen and shoulder and will have to undergo three operations. He is clueless as to where he’d get money for the operations.

Man removed four colleagues from debris

Sartaj Shaikh, 26, had saved two months of his salary and got a new mobile. It is now somewhere beneath the rubble. Though disheartened, Shaikh is still happy that he survived the tragedy and also helped rescue his friends.

“There are three rooms in this 10x10 feet chawl. Eight of us live here as the rent is merely ₹500 to ₹1,000 per month. I earn ₹10,000 and have two children, parents and wife in Bihar. I was fast asleep and only remember opening my eyes to a layer of white dust and rubble. There was a heavy weight on my shoulders. I tried to find a gap so that I could breathe properly. After around 15 minutes, I managed to come out of the debris.”

Shaikh, who has injuries on his face and knees, pulled out four of his other room-mates from the debris. “We then saw Jehangir stuck beneath a huge wall and called locals to help us move the wall. After 30 minutes, we could free him,” he said.

25-year-old reaches home an hour before collapse

Mohammad Mansoor, 25, who works in the hotel near the building, had reached his room just an hour before the building crashed onto his chawl. Mansoor, who earns a meagre salary, had shifted to this room a few months ago as he only had to pay a rent of ₹500.

“All my identity proof documents are in the rubble. With an injured hand, I can’t even go looking for those. We have to start from scratch. I have no idea where I will sleep tonight as I have no place to go to and have no money with me,” said Mansoor.

Mansoor had reached his room just an hour before the building collapsed. “My duty gets over at around 5am, after which I return to my room, freshen up and go through my phone. I was going through my phone when I suddenly saw the ceiling fall with a loud noise all over us. I faced death in those few moments. There was no noise or tremor felt before the incident. I just saw the slab falling on us directly. I stayed put, trying hard to breathe until our neighbours came to our rescue,” added Mansoor.