Juhu building fire: Toddler's toilet call saves her family, 5 others

Two-year-old insisted that her mother take her outside to answer nature's call; that's when they heard the blast at the JVPD building and asked labourers to jump to safety from the blazing flames

Hashnara and Jubaiya got out just before the blast

Deep in slumber, Hashnara Loshkar was not thrilled when her two-year-old daughter woke her up, insisting on going to the toilet.

Little did she know that her daughter's bursting bladder would end up saving not just their lives, but also that of her husband and five other labourers.

Also read - 6 dead, 11 injured after fire breaks out in under construction building

Hashnara and the toddler Jubaiya hail from Kolkata and were visiting her husband, who was one of the labourers living at the construction site of Prarthana building in Juhu-Vile Parle Development Scheme (JVPD). "On Wednesday night, my daughter Jubaiya started crying as she wanted to go to the toilet. I pleaded with her to use the bathroom inside the under-construction building, but she wasn't willing, as it was dark and dirty," said her mother Hashnara.

"As soon as I took her outside to relieve herself, I heard a loud sound from the cylinder blast, and saw a fire engulfing the ground floor," she recalled.

Screaming for help
Hashnara began to yell, asking her husband to jump from the first floor. "I could see how severe the fire was, so I asked my husband to jump. Five other labourers followed him. Thank God, we were already outside when it happened," she added.

Also read - JVPD building fire: Labourers were packed in 6x10 feet box structures

All the six workers who had jumped, including Hashnara's husband, sustained minor injuries and were treated at Cooper Hospital.

Savings lost
While she is relieved that her family is safe, Hashnara can't help but feel bad for all savings they lost.

"My husband had saved Rs 5,000 after months of hard work, but it all went to ashes. We had saved the money for my daughter's education," she lamented.

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