Relatives say the victims had been asked by the BMC to move out but they chose to ignore the warnings; four of the victims were children
The Sheikh family of eight residing on the first floor of Smruti building in Mumbra went to bed hale and hearty on Thursday night, but none of them was destined to see the next sunrise. Four of the relatives -- who fell victim to the building collapse in the wee hours yesterday -- were children, including a four-month-old boy.
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Reduced to rubble: Members of the NDRF pass around tools to clear the rubble in their bid to recuse those trapped under the debris
Makdum Ali Sheikh (28), Abdul Karim Sheikh (30), Aliya Makdum Ali Sheikh (21), Farida Abdul Karim Sheikh (25), Hamza Makdum Ali Sheikh (4 months), Husana Makdum Ali Sheikh (4), Tasmiya Abdul Karim Sheikh (2) and Shakhir Abdul Karim Sheikh (6) were killed in the tragedy that claimed two more lives.
Makdum Sheikh’s nephew Dilshad Khan and Makdum’s aunt Balambi Mubarak Tante. Pic/Sameer Markande
Sources say Makdum had tried to escape with his son Hamza, but when he reached the main entrance of the building it came down on him.
They had planned niyaz (a traditional ritual) at the same residence yesterday, for which they had gone to Kurla the previous night to invite people, returning around 11 pm.
Balambi Mubarak Tante, aunt of brothers Makdum and Abdul, said, “We reside in Kurla, and Makdum, Aliya and their children had visited me on Thursday to invite me to the niyaz. God didn’t have any mercy on us as none of them survived. I had urged them to stay the night, but they did not listen to me.”
She added, “BMC had given the residents notice to vacate the place. I have nothing more to say, as I can only see the faces of my dead family members in front of me.”
Speaking to MiD DAY, Dilshad Khan, nephew of Makdum, said, “I had met my uncle three days ago and he had not told us that they were asked to leave. But we were aware of the situation and were asking them to move out.”
Voices
I took the last local while returning to my home in Mumbra. After getting off, I stopped to drink tea at a stall outside the station. It was around 2.30 am when I heard a loud noise and realised that something was wrong. A few bystanders and I immediately rushed to the spot and found that the building had reduced to rubble. We tried to go in and rescue some people. We removed an infant from under the debris and rushed to the hospital.
Sadly, we later learnt that the baby could not survive
-- Afzar Sheikh, Mumbra resident
We saw the building fall apart before our eyes. It was really sad to see people rush out; they were extremely scared. Most of them were panic-stricken and didn’t know where to go or what to do. Only those who managed to escape after feeling the initial tremors seemed to have survived the ordeal
-- Mustafa Khan, Mumbra resident
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