'If I was quicker, I could have saved my cousin'
India, Aug. 13 -- Sajid Ansari, who was trapped under the debris when a part of the roof collapsed due to the landslide on Wednesday, has one regret. Although he managed to free himself and rescue his two brothers, Sohel and Ali, his maternal cousin Samir Ansari and Samir's friend Sahil died in the accident.
"Had I been quicker, I might have saved Samir," said the 16-year-old, who is undergoing treatment at the Bhabha Hospital.
Sajid last spoke to Samir around 2.30am on Wednesday, when the latter asked him to switch off his phone before going to sleep. "There were five of us sleeping on the first floor of our house - me, my elder brother Sohel, younger brother Ali, maternal cousin Samir and his friend Sahil, whose name I learnt much later," Sajid told HT.
When a part of the roof of their tenement came crashing down around 3.30am, Sajid thought there was an earthquake. "As I was trying to understand what had happened, I could hear my younger brother crying in pain and pleading for help. Others were also shouting," he said.
Sajid, who was sleeping on the edge, immediately began clearing the debris and rescued his two brothers. But when he went back to rescue Samir, the latter was oozing blood from his mouth and appeared to be struggling for his life.
"I removed the rubble and tried to rescue Samir and his friend. But it was already too late," he said, sobbing.
Since the structure beneath their house had also been damaged due to the landslide, Sajid and his brothers had to climb onto the roof and walk across two houses. "People then helped us down, offering their shoulders for us to step on," he said....
इस लेख के रीप्रिंट को खरीदने या इस प्रकाशन का पूरा फ़ीड प्राप्त करने के लिए, कृपया
हमे संपर्क करें.