Mumbai building collapse: Two from family dead within seconds, relatives in shock
55-year-old man and his 25-year-old daughter-in-law were killed in the collapse
Tuesday was like any other morning in the Shaik household – Abdul Sattar Kalu Shaik, 55, was taking his nap, and Sabiya Nisar Shaik, 25, had just stepped out of the room where her six-month old daughter was, to fill her milk bottle. Within seconds, Shaik and Sabiya were dead.
Shaik and his wife Salma, 55, their son, Nisar, and his wife, Sabiya, and their two children Aisha and Abdul, 2, lived in the house. “My brother was sleeping in one room at one end of the house on the third floor, whereas the other family members were towards the other end. Our daughter-in-law was also with them. As she went to the other side to get milk for her daughter, that part of the building collapsed,” said Phir Mohammed, Shaik’s brother.
Salma one of the first persons to be rescued from the debris, walked to the ambulance with a bleeding ear, pleading with the crowd to tell her about the fate of her family. Abdul was stuck under the debris for more than an hour, until the fire brigade rescued him around 12.30pm. He was rushed to the JJ Hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries.
Shaik was a trustee of the Rehmania Phulwari school, where Abdul, too, studied. Sadiya Kakdawala, principal of the school, said, “Sattar bhai was the soul of our school.”
Shaik’s relatives said the family was quite fond of their daughter and would usually go out late in the night to meet her at Sewri. On Monday night too, the family visited their daughter, Shabnam Shaik, and had returned home only at 2am.
Apart from Shabnam, at least 100 other community members were present outside Sir JJ hospital, as Abdul’s body was brought in. Mohammed, Abdul’s brother, helped in pulling out the family and identify them.
Yasmeen Shaik, cousin of Abdul’s wife Salma Shaik, said she identified her cousin from the white bangles she wore. “I stay two buildings away, and we heard this loud noise. When I stepped out, I saw the building had collapsed. Going a little further, I saw a hand in the debris. Looking at the bangles, I figured out that it belonged to my cousin. She was pulled out because she was waving and asking us to get her out of the debris,” said Yasmeen.