“He is not ready to hear the news. For him, his wife Chandni is still undergoing treatment at the hospital. His parents are still under the rubble. He is worried about them right now,” said Wasim (30), as he tried to whisk away reporters who wanted to talk to his brother-in-law, Chand (25), on Saturday afternoon.
Chand’s family lived on the second floor of a four-storey residential building, owned by his father, in Northeast Delhi’s Mustafabad. In the early hours of Saturday, the building collapsed — killing 11 people, including eight of his family members.
Standing outside the emergency ward of GTB Hospital with a bandaged hand, Chand was among the 11 rescued. It was not until evening that he got to know about the irreplaceable loss.
Around 3.30 am, when Wasim got to know of the mishap, he left his home in UP’s Singoli Taga in a rush. “I boarded a train and got here as fast as I could. I don’t even have time to absorb the news of my sister’s death. I have to take care of Chand,” he said.
Chand had lost one of his elder brothers, Aas Mohammad, in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. Apart from his wife, his father, Tehsin (60); his other elder brother, Nazeem (30); sister-in-law Shahina; nephews Anas and Afan, and niece Afreen; and a distant relative Ishaq (75), died in Saturday’s tragedy. Chand’s mother, Zeenat, is still battling for her life at the hospital.
(L-R) Tehsin, 60, Nazeem, 30, Naved, 17, Reshma, 38, and Danish, 23
Another family, who lived on the first floor of the building, lost two of their loved ones. Danish (21) and Naved (17), the two brothers who died in the incident, lived with their parents, Shahid (45) and Rehana (38), and their sister Neha (19).
Shahid and Rehana are admitted to the GTB Hospital with critical injuries, while their daughter was discharged in the afternoon. She was the one who pulled out her parents in time, said locals. But she could not help her brothers.
Story continues below this ad
Waiting in a queue for an update on his sister Rehana’s condition, Sehzad Ahmad (40) said, “I got a call from my niece in the morning. She said ‘Mamu, jaldi aa jaao. Ghar gir gaya hai. (Uncle, please come fast… we have lost our home)’. I came straight to the hospital and found out that my nephews had died.”
Danish, Ahmad said, was the only earning member of the family, and was saving up for his and his sister’s wedding.
“Shahid couldn’t see from one eye and was at home. Danish earned his livelihood from a scrap business. He was supporting Naved’s education. The family was planning on getting Neha married soon, and then Danish. They had been living there for the past 16 years,” said Ahmad.
On the third floor of the building was another victim, Reshma (38). She lived with her husband Ahmed (45), son Alfez (20), and daughters Aliya (17) and Tanu (15).
Story continues below this ad
Gulam Hossain, Reshma’s relative, who lives in the opposite lane, said he was shaken out of sleep on Saturday when the building collapsed. It felt like an earthquake, he added. “I rushed to the terrace and could see dust in the air… the building was not visible. Then someone called me and said the building had collapsed.”
Hossain ran towards the building, realising his family members were inside. “I got the children out first (Aliya and Tanu). I also got an ambulance here at around 4 am,” he said.
Farmood (45), Reshma’s brother, who came from UP in the morning, said that some construction work was going on at the ground floor, and the owner was trying to expand the area for shops. “I came directly to the hospital. I am just waiting to see my nephew and nieces,” he said.
Ahmed and Tanu are still admitted to the hospital, while Alfez and Aliya were discharged, the police said.
Story continues below this ad
While President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths, among others, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a probe into the incident.
As the collapse raised questions about the safety clearances of the building, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said the building was around 20 years old and was an unauthorised construction. “We will act against the MCD officials who cleared these houses,” Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra said following a visit to the site.