Six people were killed and 31 were injured when a portion of a busy foot over bridge near iconic CSMT railway station collapsed on Thursday during the peak rush hour, once again raising questions over the safety of such pedestrian structures. One of them to lose his life was 32-year-old Zahid Siraj Khan. Zahid’s first instinct, after the FOB collapse, was to push away his father Siraj to safety who was behind him.
According to Indian Express, Zahid pushed his father away as soon as the bridge collapsed after which his 60-year-old father Siraj saw his son crushed to death under cement slabs of the foot overbridge. Maksood Khan, Siraj’s neighbour, told the leading daily that, “Had Zahid not pushed away his father, he too would have died. He survived because the slabs that fell were a little ahead of him.”
Though Siraj had received injuries to his back and chest and was advised to be admitted in St. George Hospital, he insisted on being there during his son’s last journey. Siraj and Zahid ran a shop outside Ghatkopar railway station where they sold belts. On the day of the incident, the father and son duo had gone to Crawford Market to order belts. Zahid’s father, Siraj, had moved to Mumbai from Prayagraj about 40 years ago and set up a small stall on the road. Initially, the family lived in Nitya Nagar in Ghatkopar West. Later, Siraj saved some money and bought a house at Maitri Apartments in Ghatkopar West. Zahid left behind his parents, a younger brother, wife and two daughters, one aged six and the other just eight months old.