``I had left home at around 8 am after finishing my household chores. I was working at the construction site, when I heard a deafening sound. As I looked up, I saw the broken plane and a huge fire on top of the reservoir. And then suddenly the thick black clouds hung like a curtain and I could not see a thing,'' she recalls.

The aircraft, which had 18 defence personnel on board, first hit a six-inch high embankment, than an overhead electric wire before crashing into the reservoir and bursting into flames. The debris of the aircraft lay strewn around and several jhuggis were gutted and flattened by the fire.

With nothing but the safety of her two children in mind, she rantowards her home, barely 20 metres away from the crash site. ``My husband and I ran towards the jhuggi, but it was too late. Now only my daughter, who I had taken along with me is left. Our home and all our belongings have been destroyed,'' said Phulmani with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Her twelve-year-old son Akhla and seven-year-old Krishna, who were both playing near the jhuggi cluster adjacent to the reservoir, were charred to death.

A resident of Ranchi in Bihar, Phulmani's family had moved here a year back. They were both engaged in construction work at the water reservoir being built by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

``Everything is finished. We are left with nothing but the clothes on our back. The monthly rations - 15 kilogrammes of rice and five kilogrammes of wheat flour were also destroyed. What will we eat? How will we live?'' she questioned the government officials who were taking down details about the victims.

Jasru, another labourer employed there who lost his mother due tothe mishap, said: ``We do not pay much attention to the aircrafts as every ten minutes, one passes over our head. But the noise and the fire that we saw today was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was a little away from the spot and by the time I came, the police had already cordoned-off the area. It was only after I pleaded that my family was at home that I was allowed through.''

Jasru's sixty-year-old mother, Johitin, died in her sleep and his five-year-old son Ram Lakhan sustained burn injuries.

Narrating the events inbetween sobs, he added:`` My mother's charred body was lying in a corner and I just had time to touch her feet before they took her away. There are nearly 30 families living here but we were the only unlucky ones.''