Jammu, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Days after the building collapse at Delhi’s Satya Niketan claimed seven lives, survivor Nitish has recounted the terrifying hours he spent trapped under the debris, saying he feared that one of his legs could be severed before rescue workers managed to pull him out.
Nitish, an undergraduate student at Delhi University’s Motilal Nehru College and a resident of Jammu, was staying on the second floor of the building with his flatmate Neeraj. He said around nine to 10 students were inside when the structure suddenly collapsed.
“There was some construction work going on in the basement,” Nitish said, adding that he had been sitting with Neeraj in his room when the building came down without warning.
“There was no time to react,” he recalled.
After the collapse, Nitish remained trapped beneath the rubble. A boy who was near him managed to contact his seniors and share their location. Nitish did not have his phone with him, but his companion did. The seniors reached the site, identified where the students were trapped and alerted the rescue teams.
“The rescue itself took hours,” Nitish said. While rescuers managed to free his upper body, one of his legs remained stuck beneath the debris.
“It took a lot of time to bring it out. I even thought my leg would get severed, but thankfully that did not happen,” he said.
Nitish said he eventually lost hope of surviving after hearing people warn that the adjoining building could also collapse.
“If that had happened, there was no chance of survival,” he said, recalling the relief he felt after being rescued.
His flatmate Neeraj has undergone two surgeries and, according to doctors, is recovering.
Nitish also recalled meeting Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who assured the survivors that they would receive whatever assistance they needed and told them they could contact her directly.
The DU student urged authorities to regularly inspect old and vulnerable buildings to prevent similar tragedies. “What happened with us should not be repeated,” he said.
Nitish’s mother recalled the panic that gripped the family after she learnt about the collapse from one of his friends. She said the friend initially informed Nitish’s sister, who began crying but did not immediately tell her what had happened.
After calling the number back, she learnt that the building had collapsed and that Nitish was trapped under the debris, with no further information available about his condition.
She immediately rushed to the airport, while Nitish’s sister and cousin booked an evening flight to Delhi. She later returned home after realising she had left her documents behind, before travelling to the national capital on a subsequent flight with other family members.
The family reached the hospital around 9.30 p.m. that day. Although Nitish’s cousins had already told her that he was safe, she said she could not relax until she saw him receiving treatment.
By the time the family reached the hospital, three students had already died.
“I was shocked to see their bodies; I still can’t get the sight out of my mind,” she said.
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