‘Saw her float away’: Survivors in rain-hit Mumbai recount distressing times

The death toll in wall collapse in Malad due to heavy rain went up to 23 on Wednesday, after another body was recovered from the debris. The body of 38-year-old Pappu Ganesh Shah was found from the site at 6:30 am and he was declared ‘brought dead’ to the hospital.

Seventy nine people were also injured in the incident after heavy rain brought down a retaining wall of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) reservoir on hutments on a hillock in Kurar village, Malad, around 1am on Tuesday.

The dead included a one-year-old girl and a 15-year-old who could not be saved after being buried under the rubble despite the NDRF trying to rescue her for 12 hours.

Those who were lucky to have escaped with injuries saw their homes being washed away and are now worrying about how to pick up the pieces.

Click here for updates on Mumbai rains

Here are a few first-person accounts of the survivors:

‘She was playing with her favourite toy when current took her away’

Anil Kanojiya was watching his year-old daughter, Janhavi, play when the tragedy struck.

“She was playing with her favourite toy. I had just returned from work,” said Kanojiya, who stayed with his daughter and wife.

“I saw her float away. It was too dark and I couldn’t locate my wife or my daughter. The current was so strong,” said Kanojiya, who found out his daughter was dead at the hospital. “Prima facie it seems she drowned and suffered multiple injuries,” said a doctor from Shatabdi Hospital.

Also Read | Death toll in Mumbai’s wall collapse goes up to 23

‘My daughter had just filled her college forms’

The last time Krishna Surve, a Kurve village resident, spoke to his daughter, Sanika, she asked him to come home soon as it was raining heavily. By the time he reached home, not only was Sanika, 14, missing, he couldn’t recognise his neighbourhood. Sanika was later found dead under the wall debris.

“I tried reaching as soon as possible but there were no rickshaws,” says Surve. Family members said Sanika had recently finished her Class 10 exams and had filled out several college forms. “His two other daughters and his wife are hospitalised. Surve is extremely saddened by the loss of his daughter,” said a family member.

‘Wish I could go back to save my brother’

“I wish I could save him. He handed over our niece to me and asked me to keep her safe…he didn’t worry about his own safety,” said Rajkumar Gaur, brother of 21-year-old Sravan Kumar, who lost his life in the Kurar village wall collapse. The Gaurs were sleeping when the wave of water washed out their home.

“The lights went out…It was pitch dark. People were screaming and we were clueless. After making sure our niece was safe, I wanted to return to save Sravan, but it was too late. I could only see his feet floating away in the current,” said Rajkumar, adding Sravan had recently graduated and started working.

Doctors said he died due to drowning and multiple injuries to his body.

Also Read | Two inside car drown as Mumbai’s Malad subway floods

‘Water washed out everything in seconds’

Kalpesh Ambekar, 22, was busy making a small boundary around his house with his father to keep rain water away, when the collapse occurred.

While he somehow escaped, he watched his parents sustain major head injuries. As their house was barely 15-20 metres away from the wall, the initial wave of water hit their house the hardest.

“Within a second, the water washed out all the hutments. I was somehow lucky to have escaped with minimum injuries to my leg and face,” he said.

Both Ambedkar’s parents were rushed to Shatabdi Hospital.

UP man worries how he’ll provide for kin

Banke Bihari Gupta, 45, who stayed alone at Kurar village and was the sole earning member of his family back in Uttar Pradesh, sustained a leg fracture during Monday’s collapse.

“But what worries him is how he will provide for his family. They are completely dependent on him,” said his brother Sarvesh, who travelled from Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai as soon as he heard the news of the collapse.

Gupta, who used to work at a diamond factory in Dahisar, lost his job when the company shifted to another place. He had filed a case against the company for illegally firing him.

“My brother used to earn Rs 20,000, most of which he sent back home and used some of it to sustain himself,” said Sarvesh.

Also Read | Mumbai’s rain pains: We have not learnt any lessons, say experts

First Published:
Jul 03, 2019 11:19 IST

Source: Read Full Article