MUMBAI: It was just another morning for 25-year old Sabia Nisar Sheikh as she went about her household chores. Her husband, Nisar, had left for work in the morning, and soon Saba sat down to feed her two children, Habib and 3-year-old Ayesha.
Unaware of what fate had in store for her, Sabia took her infant in her lap and was feeding her, while Ayesha was within arm’s reach.
Suddenly, the floor shook violently, and pieces of plaster began to crumble and fall on the trio.
Using her presence of mind, Sabia pulled her children into her lap and went on all fours to protect them from the falling debris. Within seconds, her third floor flat crashed to the ground.
Oblivious to the gravity of the situation, she clung tightly to her children and remained so until rescuers pulled her body out of the rubble.
“Sabia lived with her husband Nisar and the couple had two children Habib and younger daughter Ayesha. Nisar had gone out when the building collapsed,” said Salma Sheikh, a distant relative of Nasir who also lived in the same building.
Scores of locals joined in the effort, forming a human chain to help in removing the debris brick by brick.