Bhiwandi: A Good Samaritan who offered shelter to relatives, three daily-wagers from one family counting down the minutes to the end of the day’s work, and a wife struggling with survivor’s guilt. The building crash plunged many families into insurmountable grief.Shamim Ansari (32) did not even live in the building and had rushed to offer help to a relative, Mehtab Ansari (32), after learning that a pillar in the building was tilting and occupants were shifting out. He offered Mehtab and his wife a vacant house he owned until things settled. “He insisted that we leave immediately,” Mehtab told TOI.Shamim convinced the two to leave with him. After they gathered a few essentials and walked out, Shamim stayed back to speak to some labourers repairing the pillar. “Within moments, the building collapsed. We survived because of him, but he got trapped under the debris,” Mehtab said. Shamim leaves behind his wife and three children.Siblings Ashok Paswan (40) and Rakesh Paswan (25) and their cousin, Mukesh Paswan (30), who were hired for repairs undertaken over four days, were also buried under the rubble. Ashok’s wife and their three young children are staring at an uncertain future since he was the sole breadwinner. “The three left for work together like every other day. We never imagined they would all die in the same accident,” a relative said.Ranjit Singh (45) failed to make it out of the building in time, while his wife escaped just moments prior. “Why couldn’t it have been me instead?” the wife cried at the hospital repeatedly.Three others escaped in the nick of time. Brothers Abhay Yadav (26) and Deepak Yadav (25), who lived on rent, said they decided to vacate the house after the pillar tilted and as they were stepping out, the building collapsed. “I managed to run to safety, but suffered injuries to my leg,” said Abhay. Deepak said he was on the first floor when he found that the staircase had given way. “I had no option but to jump. I fractured my leg. There was complete chaos. The entire area was engulfed in dust within seconds.”Another survivor, Sangita Prajapati, said she lost consciousness while running towards the exit and the rescue team found her.
