For them, the world collapsed

NEW DELHI: Mohd Naeem was on his terrace after taking a bath on Saturday morning when the ground beneath him shook and in the next few moments, everything that he owned and loved, was lost. Naeem's wife and three kids died when a four-storey building in Inderlok's Tulsi Nagar collapsed. Naeem (39) is admitted to Hindu Rao Hospital and remained unconscious for most of the day.
Another resident, Abdul Rashid (38), lost his two kids and wife in the collapse. He has suffered injuries on his hip and shoulder. Doctors say that he was unconscious and did not know anything about his family till 8pm.
"They were unconscious when they were brought to the hospital. Both are stable but Naeem suffered a serious head injury and is under observation," said Dr R B Mittal, medical superintendent, Hindu Rao Hospital.
Rashid's brother-in-law, Mohd Ateeb, rushed from Seelampur to the hospital on hearing about the incident. "My wife had spoken to her brother just last night and now she is in a deep shock. I will now go to Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital to collect the bodies of his two kids". Rashid's kids, Abdul Adeeb (7) and Shabba (5), were choked to death in the building collapse.
Most people were either sleeping or had just woken up when the incident occurred. "I woke up a few minutes before the tragedy and was brushing my teeth. I heard a rumbling sound and rushed outside. To my horror, the four-storey building was coming down and in a few seconds there was a huge dust cloud," said Mohammad Chand (21), an eyewitness.
As the news spread in the locality, residents rushed the spot to help the trapped victims. Mohd Shakeel, elder brother of Naeem, lives just two lanes away from the building that collapsed. He had just reached his workplace when his 12-year-old son came running with the news.
"I work in the nearby sweet shop. My son came running and told me that Naeem's house had collapsed. I rushed to the spot without wasting a moment," said Shakeel.
Anwar Khan (24), who lives a lane away from the collapsed building said, "My father leaves for work around 8.30am every day. I was taking out the bike parked inside the house. Suddenly, I heard a deafening sound and thought a blast had happened. I ran in the same direction as the others to check. On reaching the spot, we started removing the debris and saw kids trapped inside. The police and ambulance was called".