Hyderabad: Mr B. Seetharam (45), a mason who was working at the FNCC building, considers himself to be very lucky indeed. Mr Seetharam had lost consciousness after being hit by an iron rod on his head and was trapped under the debris for an hour.
“I heard a sound and something hit me on my head. Everything went blank for several minutes. When I gained consciousness I could hear the sound of people, who were removing the debris,” said Mr Seetharam, a native of Raichur, Karnataka and a resident of Chintal Basthi.
Mr Mahadev, 50, a mason from Raichur, escaped without injury. “I was on the ground when I heard the sound. I ran outside the building. When I looked back, it was all dust and debris,” he said.
Mr Saheb Mandal, 20, who is undergoing treatment, said, “We saw a crack in the pillar and realised that the work had not been properly done. An alarm was raised and five of us rushed to the site including Mansoor Sheikh and Mahantesh (who died in the mishap). It was decided that centreing work must be immediately carried out. Before we could get the frames, the building started giving way.”
