A tale of tomatoes, love and survival

A family of 4 trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Burari since Monday evening was rescued after over 30 hours

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Just as Rajesh Kumar got ready to cook dinner for his family of four on Monday, he heard a loud thud and before he knew it, the building collapsed, burying him under debris. For over 30 hours, Kumar, 26, his wife Gangotri, 24, their two children Prince, 6, and Ritik, 2, were stuck sideways under rubble-with nothing but three tomatoes and a prayer on their lips to keep them going.

At 3am on Wednesday, the four were pulled out from the collapsed house in Burariwhere five people were killed, and 21 rescued-by a team of firefighters who had spent over a day devising ways to rescue the family. The under-construction four-storey building had fallen like a pack of cards around 6.30pm on Monday, burying with it masons, labourers, and families of two guards who were employed there. An FIR was filed against the owner of the building, Yogender Bhati, who was arrested on Tuesday.

"I will never forget what happened...We had to keep lying down sideways and had no space to sit or move. There were times I felt like giving up but I saw the faces of my children and wife.