The deadly PG building collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan has left students living nearby deeply traumatised. Seven people were killed when the ‘HostelDaze’ PG building collapsed on Sunday, trapping students and labourers beneath the debris.
Among those who witnessed the terrifying incident were Delhi University students Arnica and Mansi, both 20, who were staying at the neighbouring ‘Kanak Lata’ PG.
Cracks appeared moments before collapse
The students told NDTV that alarming cracks had started spreading across the ceiling and walls of their room shortly before the neighbouring building collapsed. Arnica recorded the damage on video as the situation became increasingly frightening.
"Looks like it's going to fall," Arnica can be heard saying in the video.
The cracks reportedly widened as cement and water began seeping through the walls.
"We were inside our room when the building collapsed," the students recalled.
"Cracks had already appeared on the walls of our room. Cement and water started seeping through the cracks, which kept getting bigger," they said.
Their fears soon became reality. A wall next to their room collapsed before the adjoining PG building came down.
"Suddenly, the wall next to our room collapsed, followed by the entire building," they said.
‘We ran for our lives’
The collapse triggered panic inside the Kanak Lata PG. Fearing that their own building could also collapse, Arnica and Mansi rushed outside, warning other students to escape.
"It felt like a huge tremor. We thought our own building would also collapse. We ran for our lives," they told NDTV.
The exit gate was blocked by debris, forcing the students and others to push it open together. Mansi said she had narrowly escaped being struck by falling bricks after leaving her belongings behind.
"Bricks were falling near my bed. I had a narrow escape," she said.
Students struggle with trauma
Even after reaching safety, the students said the horror has continued to haunt them. The sound of people trapped under the rubble remains particularly difficult to forget.
"We have barely slept in the last two days. The images of the collapsing building and the debris keep running through our minds whenever we close our eyes," they said.
"We can still hear the voices of the students who were buried under the collapsed building. Those voices are stuck in our heads. As if they are calling out, 'Save us.'"
Mansi said it was difficult to accept how quickly lives had changed.
"Just an hour earlier, those boys were alive. An hour later, they were all dead," she said.
Their own PG has since been declared unsafe and is scheduled for demolition by the MCD. For the two students, what was meant to be a safe place to live while pursuing their education has instead become a deeply traumatic memory.
