Karol Bagh building collapse: ‘He wanted to provide mother, sister a happy life’, says family of 12-year-old victim

Soon, her sister Harpyari Devi and brother-in-law Mahesh Kumar, who lived in the same locality, came rushing to the spot and helped the three get out of the building. It was only when Savita came out that she realised what had happened — four floors of the nearby five-storey building had collapsed, affecting her own building.

Around 9 am on Wednesday, a building housing a shoe-making factory came crashing, burying 18 residents — several of them migrant labourers working in the factory — under the rubble. Four of them later died.

One of them was 12-year-old Aman Khan. A class VII student,  from UP’s Rampur, he was visiting his cousin in Delhi during his school vacation. “He was a bright student and wanted to be a businessman. His father passed away in 2016. He wanted to provide his mother and younger sister a happy and prosperous life. He was their last hope after his father’s death,” said his cousin Md Usman Gani Khan, 32.

Aman’s mother and sister are yet to hear the news of his death. Usman said the child last spoke to them on Tuesday morning and told them he would return soon.

Three brothers — Mosin (26)  and his two brothers Sami (20) and Sunny (25) — lived in the building. While Mosin succumbed to injuries, Sami is in ICU and Sunny is undergoing treatment, said their neighbour and friend, Mazhar Raza, 30. “Their father died a long time ago. They are the only earners and support of their mother,” he added.

Prince Gautam, who lives nearby, said he was sleeping when he heard a loud sound and felt the bed shake “I rushed to the terrace to find out that a building near mine had collapsed,” said the 23-year-old.