Building collapse: Survivors recount fateful night

Ashok was climbing down stairs to fetch a cylinder when he was jolted by the sudden blast. Surender saw six persons, including a child, getting trapped inside the debris. Seconds after entering the factory, Ajit Kumar was thrown away by the impact of the blast and later found himself among many unconscious people.

These are some of the survivors who lived to tell the tales of the fateful night when seven people were killed after a portion of a factory manufacturing ceiling fans collapsed under the impact of a blast in its furnace in west Delhi's Sudarshan Park on Thursday.

Lying on a bed at the Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital here, Ashok recalled how the blast rendered him numb. He said the entire incident happened between 8.40 pm and 8.45 pm.

"I was working on the first floor (of the factory) where fans were painted. My boss asked me to get a filled cylinder since the one which was in use was running out. I was hardly ten steps down, when I heard a blast and was soon trapped inside the debris," he said.

Nearly 16 people, including a six-year-old child and two women, were inside the factory when the tragedy took place, he recalled.

Ashok had been working in the factory for close to three years and used to make spare parts of fans.

The owner of the factory, Ankit Gupta, was also at the spot when the incident took place. He too sustained injuries. Another owner, Sumit, had left for home at around 6.30 pm, he said.

Ashok also rued about the poor medical treatment being provided to him.

He alleged the hospital authorities asked him to get a