Saved after 51 hrs, teen says won’t work in Punjab again

Machine No. 15 had been Sanjeev's source of livelihood for the past four months. For 51 hours beginning Sunday night, it was also the only thing that kept the 17-year-old from death.

Sanjeev was the only person to be dug out of the rubble of the Shital Fibres blanket-making unit alive on Wednesday. One more body was recovered, taking the death toll in the factory collapse to 10. While 73 were injured, many continue to be missing.

Sanjeev, a migrant labourer from Gopalganj in Bihar, said he was saved because the thread-weaving machine at which he had been working as a cloth cutter tilted on its side as the factory came down. Sanjeev slipped under the machine, which took the load of the debris that rained down.

While rescue teams reached Sanjeev on Tuesday evening, they could bring him out only after midnight — close to three hours later. He survived with only a few injuries on his left thigh.

From the hospital, Sanjeev said he was working on the ground floor of the four-storey building at the time of the disaster.

"I tried to call friends on the phone, but there was no signal. It was very dark, and I was not able to see anything. I tried to stay calm and leave everything to my destiny. Then, after a long time, I heard someone call out 'koi hai (anybody there)?'. I started shouting, 'Please help me, give me some water'," said Sanjeev. "Then somebody sent me water and biscuits with the help of a rod. I drank water; it

was like life was flowing through me."

Two others, Vinod and Bhagoo Dass, were working with him and Sanjeev doesn't know what happened to them. His cousin Nitesh died in the collapse.

It was the "hope of a decent livelihood" that brought him and his cousin Nitesh to Punjab, Sanjeev says.

... contd.

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