Parents dead, 3-year-old traced alive after 80 hrs

Parents dead, 3-year-old traced alive after 80 hrs
M.V.R. RAO

MEERUT, FEB 2: Fate couldn't have played a more queer game with this elderly couple settled in Pilana near Bagpat. They lost their son Indian Air Force corporal Mahesh Kumar Sharma and daughter-in-law Rajni in the Gujarat quake. They gave up hope for their three-year-old grand daughter who was missing for more than 80 hours under the rubble of their collapsed apartment in Bhuj. The little girl has been finally brought to them after a Swiss Relief Team managed to retrieve her safely. She was trapped under furniture between the crashed lintels of the collapsed flat for almost four days. However, Mahesh's sister Babita also survived. She was singing the national anthem during the Republic Day parade at school when the earth shook. Once things became stable, she rushed homeward and fainted on seeing the collapsed apartment.

Rajni's parents also got anxious the moment the news reached distant Pilukhwa near Meerut. Her father Raj Kumar Sharma rushed to Bhuj with Rajesh's elder brother. By the time they reached there, Mahesh's body had been cremated. Later, Rajni's body was also recovered.

Frantic search continued for the child but chances of her survival was thin after three long days. But the Swiss team and a few local rescue workers didn't give and the girl was finally found alive.