Burari Building Collapse: How Family Of Four Survived Beneath Debris For 30 Hours On 3 Tomatoes, Some Peanuts

officials confirmed that they were pulled out late at night on January 29 amid a rescue operation and were identified as Rajesh (30), his wife Gangotri (26), and their two sons, Prince (6) & Ritik (3).

File photo of rescue work after a four-storey building collapsed, at Burari area, in New Delhi on January 28.

Source : PTI

Four people from the same family members were rescued alive from the rubble of a multi-story building that collapsed earlier this week in North Delhi’s Burari area. Remarkably, they survived for at least 30 hours with only three tomatoes and peanuts.

The rescued members were identified as Rajesh (30), his wife Gangotri (26), and their two sons, Prince (6) and Ritik (3). They were pulled out late at night on January 29 (Wednesday) during a rescue operation, officials confirmed, according to a report by India Today.

Rajesh recalled his harrowing experience of being trapped under the debris and stated that they managed to suppress their hunger by consuming the three tomatoes they had at home.

"The building collapsed at around 6.30 pm just before I was about to prepare dinner for my family. We tried a lot to remove the debris above us, but couldn't do it. I had given up and left everything to God. We survived for over 30 hours on just three tomatoes left in the house," Rajesh said, news agency ANI reported.

"We were unconscious when we were pulled out. I don't even remember when and how we all reached the hospital," he added.

"People can go to any length to save their children. I managed to keep my children’s hunger and thirst at bay by feeding them three tomatoes, and we (me and my wife) managed to survive by eating peanuts,” Indian Express quoted Rajesh as saying.

Building Collapsed On January 27

Officials stated that the family survived after a ceiling slab from the newly constructed building collapsed onto a cooking gas cylinder, creating a small space that shielded them from being crushed under the debris.  

The four-story residential building, located near Oscar Public School, collapsed on Monday evening (January 27), resulting in the deaths of five people, including two minors. Since the incident, rescue teams have managed to save 16 individuals, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia.  

Officials deployed advanced detection equipment and canine units to aid in locating and rescuing those trapped.  Meanwhile, Delhi Police have filed a case against the building owner, Yogendra Bhati, under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including culpable homicide, and have taken him into custody.