JAMMU, September 10: What began as a routine Sunday breakfast turned into a fight for survival for Jammu’s Nitish Chib, who spent nearly 90 minutes trapped under the rubble after a five-storey boys’ PG accommodation collapsed in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on September 6.
The building collapse claimed seven lives and left several others injured.
Chib, a second-year B.Com student at Delhi University’s Motilal Nehru College, was having breakfast with his friend Neeraj, a resident of Kathua, in room number 201 on the building’s second floor when the structure suddenly gave way.
“There was no warning, and we had no idea that anything like this was going to happen. Suddenly, the entire building collapsed, and we got trapped underneath. We could hear each other but could not see each other,” Chib recalled.
With both students trapped beneath the debris, Neeraj’s mobile phone became their crucial link to the outside world. Chib used the phone to contact their seniors and share their location, prompting a rescue effort.
After remaining trapped for around one-and-a-half hours, Chib was pulled out by rescuers. He suffered injuries to his head, left shoulder and left leg and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Neeraj was rescued later and remains in critical condition, undergoing surgeries. Chib said doctors were hopeful that his friend would recover.
Chib had moved to Delhi last August to pursue his studies. According to him, around nine to 10 students were staying in the building. He said he paid Rs 15,000 per month for his room, which was shared by two students, bringing the combined rent for the room to about Rs 30,000.
After his rescue, Chib was initially taken to a nearby hospital before being shifted to another facility for further treatment. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also visited him at the hospital.
The incident has left Chib deeply concerned about the safety of paying guest accommodations in Delhi. He called for stricter inspections and safety certification of such buildings.
“If the government had earlier ordered that the PG buildings be checked and declared safe, this could have been prevented. What happened to us should not happen to anyone else,” he said.
Chib also said several students known to him were among those affected by the tragedy.
“Some were first-year students. Among the second-year students, several have died. I do not know the exact number, but six to seven deaths have been reported from among those I knew, while some others are still critical,” he said.
His mother, Sushma, said the family rushed to Delhi after receiving news of the building collapse.
“We booked tickets and travelled in different flights so that the family members could reach him as quickly as possible,” she said.
She reached the hospital at around 9.30 pm on Sunday and found her son undergoing treatment. The situation became even more distressing, she said, after seeing other injured students and learning that several young lives had been lost in the collapse.
The family is now hoping for Chib’s speedy recovery, while the survivor’s account has renewed concerns over safety standards and inspections at PG accommodations housing students in the national capital.
