Woman rescued from rubble after 19 hours, survives

Mumbai: After a 19-hour-long rescue operation, a 27-year-old woman was rescued from the site of the Kesarbai Building, which collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday. Miraculously, the woman identified as Halimabano Mohammad Rashid Idrisi survived, however her two sons were not as fortunate. Ms Idrisi is recuperating at the state-run J.J. Hospital but she has sustained multiple injuries. She had to be operated upon but is not stable, said the superintendent of J.J. Hospital.

Halima had been staying in Uttar Pradesh with her sons, Arbaaz (7) and Shezhad (8), but shifted to Mumbai only two months ago to be with her husband who lives in the city and also to provide a better education to their
children.

Halima’s sister-in-law Adeeba Sohail Idrisi told The Asian Age, “Halima is asking about her sons. She is lucky she got saved after being in the rubble for 19 hours but her children are no more.”

With tears in her eyes and disturbed speech, Hal-ima asked this reporter, “Where are my kids? Ple-ase take me to them. I am being told they are in different wards but no one is giving me a clear picture.”

Halima had to undergo fasciotomy, a surgical procedure where the fascia is cut to relieve tension or pressure commonly to treat the resulting loss of circulation to an area of tissue or muscle. She has also been diagnosed with compartment syndrome, a painful condition caused by the build-up of pressure from internal bleeding or swelling of tissues.

Dr Sanjay Surase, superintendent of J.J. Hospital, said, “She is having compartment syndrome and has sustained multiple injuries and contusions.”

She was in the rubble in one position for a longer time. Explaining her case, Dr Surase said, “After medical evaluation, we performed surgery on her but she needs another surgery and for that, we are waiting for her reports since internal injuries will show their symptoms after a day.”