‘Should’ve stopped my friend from going into the building’, says Bhiwandi survivor

Javed was one of the seven who entered the building on Saturday, after civic officials had evacuated and sealed it following cracks in the structure.

Thirty-four-year-old Javed Saleem Shaikh, who went to help his friend Mohammad Aaqib Shaikh, 22, get his bike from the four-storey illegal building which collapsed in Piranipada on Saturday, recalls not being able to see anything, stuck in the debris for more than two hours. A video of Javed stuck inside the debris, with only his hand visible, trying to talk to the rescue officials, was widely circulated on social media. “I was in my senses and could hear people shout. I kept talking to them to help them know that I am alive. I should have stopped Shaikh from going inside the building all over again,” said Javed.

A video of Javed stuck inside the debris, with only his hand visible, trying to talk to the rescue officials, was widely circulated on social media. (HT PHOTOS)

Javed was one of the seven who entered the building on Saturday, after civic officials had evacuated and sealed it following cracks in the structure. While Javed; Abdul Aziz Sayyed, 65; and Momeen Nadeeb Mohammad Safi, 21, were injured in the collapse, Shaikh and his close friend Siraj Ahmed Ali, 26, died.

As soon as the victims were pulled out, they were rushed to the nearby Indira Gandhi civic hospital, where Javed, Sayyed and Safi are currently recuperating.

Javed, a labourer, said he knew Shaikh’s family since they came to live in Shantinagar three years ago. “Shaikh had called me to help him out and I immediately went to the spot. We removed as many belongings as we could, before the building was sealed. He kept insisting on moving out his bike too. Our relation was such that I could not refuse to go with him. I was on the second floor when the building collapsed,” said Javed, who lives in a nearby building and suffered head and hand injuries.

Another survivor, Sayyed, who is a family friend of Shaikh’s, said, “I got a call from Shaikh’s brother from Kuwait asking me to help him shift his belongings as the building was in a dangerous condition. I was not aware of how unsafe the building was as I had just arrived at the spot and went inside to help him,” said Sayyed. “A major portion of the building fell on my chest and since I was stuck there for around two hours, my entire body is paining. I was inside his flat when the building collapsed while others had moved out and reached the second floor passage with the bike and a few other belongings,” said Sayyed.

Safi, Shaikh’s cousin, who was carrying a bed on his head, suffered hand and leg injuries. He had a narrow escape as he had reached the stairs. “While Shaikh was removing his motorcycle with the others, I carried a bed. I was a bit away from him otherwise I would have also died in the collapse,” said Nadeeb.