NEW DELHI: For Nitish Chib, a 19-year-old Motilal Nehru College student, a routine stay at his hostel in Satya Niketan turned into a terrifying struggle for survival when the building collapsed. His family friend and peer, Nitin Jamwal, 19, had moved out of the same building just two months ago. However, on Monday, he rushed to the spot after learning about the collapse on social media and anxiously awaited news of Nitish.
Nitish and Nitin, both from Jammu, had come to Delhi around one and a half years ago and are second-year students at Motilal Nehru College. They had been staying at Hostel Daze, the PG accommodation in Delhi’s South Campus that collapsed on Sunday afternoon.
At present, Nitish is undergoing treatment at the AIIIMS Trauma Centre. He suffered stitches on his head and bruises on his leg and shoulder and is now stable. His mother flew in from Jammu on Sunday and has been by his side. Nitin said the family was relieved after speaking to him.
Nitin, who shifted to Ber Sarai just two months back, said the building had been in poor condition and that older hostel mates would describe it as “khandar”. “I moved out because of problems with the food, and the condition was not up to the mark,” he said.
However, Nitish chose to continue staying there as he did not want to lose the security deposit of Rs 30,000, which had been paid for two months. “I decided to do away with the deposit instead, as I wanted to stay in a better place,” Nitin said.
Many had claimed that they had also noticed a shop undergoing construction in the basement. However, Nitin said he did not know much about the work, as the shop remained closed most of the time.
On Sunday afternoon, Nitin learnt about the collapse through reels and rushed to the spot, reaching around 2 pm. “I was extremely scared as rescue teams searched through the debris. Nitish was eventually rescued around 6 pm,” he said.
While recovering at the hospital, Nitish told his cousin that he had been in the room of fellow student Neeraj Bawa shortly before the collapse. “He heard some sounds, following which the floor suddenly gave way,” Nitin added. Neeraj, also 19 and a second-year student, remains in the ICU after sustaining injuries. Another second-year student, Aditya Kumar, 19, is also being treated at AIIMS.
The hospital said on Monday that 12 people were received at the hospital following the collapse. Of these, seven were brought dead, while others were treated for injuries. VMCC and Safdarjung Hospital said three patients were brought after the collapse. A 19-year-old and a 26-year-old man sustained minor injuries. A 47-year-old man, who injured his left hand while rescuing victims, was admitted for observation.
