Lawyer and nephew escape thanks to guests

Arcanjo Sodder and his nephew Galan Bowen narrowly escaped death on Monday night as they got delayed getting to their third-floor flat in Aftab Mansion. Priyanka Vora reports....

Arcanjo Sodder and his nephew Galan Bowen narrowly escaped death on Monday night as they got delayed getting to their third-floor flat in Aftab Mansion.

HT Image

Sodder, a high court lawyer who lives five minutes away from the building, said: “We usually go there to sleep in the night, but on Monday there were guests at my house so we got late. And then we received a call saying that the building has collapsed.”

Sodder said his 24-year-old nephew had been planning to leave early.

“Galan stayed back because our guests asked him to, otherwise he would have lost his life.”

Ten people were killed and seven were injured when one side of the building collapsed.

Bowen said he has lost many valuables. “The house was fully furnished. My father collects antique frames that were lost in the debris. My grandmother had a collection of pre-Independences coins, which were lost too,” said Bowen, adding that their piano was smashed to pieces.

Some residents of the building have alleged that many locals picked up cash, gold ornaments from the debris.

“Most of us have lost important documents and passports,” said a resident.