'Gave Tomatoes to Kids to Quench Hunger and Thirst': Burari Building Collapse Survivor Recounts How He and His Children Survived for 30 Hours

A survivor of a collapsed building in Delhi's Burari area was rescued on Tuesday night along with his wife and two children after more than 30 hours from under the debris of the collapsed building. The survivor, identified as Rajesh, said he managed to keep the children’s hunger and thirst at bay by feeding them tomatoes.

"We had tomatoes that I gave to my kids to quench their hunger and thirst, any father would have done that," 34-year-old survivor Rajesh said to the news agency ANI on Wednesday. 

#WATCH | Burari building collapse incident, Delhi | A survivor says, "...I had never done any harm to anyone, if I had done that we would have no chance to survive... We had tomatoes that I gave to my kids to quench their hunger and thirst, any father would have done that... I… pic.twitter.com/8PyeulE3fh

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2025

When the building collapsed in Burari, a portion of the ceiling fell on the LPG gas cylinder, which created space for Rajesh and his family to breathe and stay below the debris. However, they were also trapped. "...I had never done any harm to anyone, if I had done that we would have no chance to survive," he added.

Search and rescue operations were concluded on Thursday (January 30). 16 people have been rescued from the collapsed site in Burari area and five people have been declared dead on Monday. 

Survivor Rajesh further stated that he used a pipe to communicate with the rescue team who were at the collapse site. "I used a pipe through which my voice reached someone and we were saved otherwise,e we would have been buried under debris."

Also Read | Burari Building Collapse: Two Dead, 12 Rescued After Four-Storey Building Collapses in Delhi; Rescue Operations Underway.

"Our situation was such that I don't know by who and when we were brought to the hospital," Rajesh said. Rajesh, his wife Gangotri (26), and their children — Prince (6) and Ritik (3) — were taken to a nearby hospital for further treatment soon after the rescue, officials told The Indian Express.

The builder, Yogender Bhati, was arrested from Timarpur on Tuesday and has been booked under BNS sections 105 (culpable homicide), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 3(5).