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For the survivors, after the tragedy comes the reality

A quiet locality in the northern suburb of Bombay, Pushpa Park was just waking up after a siesta on Tuesday when, around 1700 hours, a loud crash startled the residents wide awake.

The six-storeyed 'Sukh Sagar' residential and commercial complex had crumbled like a pack of cards, crushing the neighbouring chawl. It had been home to around 36 families for the last 15 years.

Heavy debris, which stands 15 feet tall, made the fire brigade and residents's rescue efforts almost impossible. Yet, quick thinking on the part of locals and faculty members of the nearby Children's Academy helped in the rescue of two children and a few others.

According to a resident of the building, Eshwar Pitamber, the building had shown signs of deterioration around 10 months back, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which regulates civic life in the city, had been notified in this regard. Repair work on the building, which had sunk partly, had begun a week ago, but the building obviously could not take the load.

Fernandes, another resident, was too shocked to describe what happened, as she realised that her two children were still trapped in their fifth floor flat.

"It just fell over backwards before I could realise what had happened," she said, and thanked the faculty of Children's Academy for their timely help to rescue her children and a few others trapped in the debris.

The building, which was in a dilapidated condition, had been a cause of concern for residents for the last 10 months. It housed four shops on the ground floor, including a provision store, a medical store, and a tutorial class. A tailor had vacated his shop six months earlier, considering the overall condition of the structure.

As the six-storeyed structure bent backwards and started giving way, residents of the nearby chawl quickly vacated their premises. But for their quick thinking, the death toll could have been much higher, authorities said.

For the panic-stricken families, the main concern now is how to spend their days and nights till the situation returns to normalcy and the fear in their hearts subsides.

UNI

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Eight dead in Bombay building crash, many more trapped under debris

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