In a moment of extraordinary courage amidst chaos, a teenage boy from the Khan family emerged as a hero after saving his parents and younger brother from a deadly cylinder blast and house collapse in their Bandra chawl early Friday morning. The incident, which left 15 people injured, two of them critically, created panic in the locality.

Speaking to mid-day, the 15-year-old recounted, “I had woken up from my sleep and was just about to sleep again when I heard a loud explosion. Within minutes, the walls of our house began trembling. Before I could fully understand what was happening, part of our home collapsed, trapping my parents and younger brother under the debris. I was terrified, I could only hear them scream each other’s names and call out to me for help. I quickly started clearing the debris with my hands and managed to get them out one by one. My father came out first, then my mother and younger brother. All three were badly injured.”

His mother, Noori Irfan Khan, added, “No one came for immediate rescue. It was our elder son who pulled us out. I could hear his voice, which gave me some hope, but I was terrified for my husband and younger son, who were screaming and crying. If our elder son hadn’t been there, I don’t think we would have survived. We were eventually taken to the hospital by people in light blue shirts. [disaster management officers].”