Goregaon lift accident: 11-year-old recalls gripping friend’s hand to save him

Elevenyearold Rudra Susvirkar who was badly injured after falling into the lift shaft in a Goregaon building on Wednesday night around 1000 pm talks to midday about what happened that day He said he had held on to friend Vignesh Mahatrersquos hand as soon as he began to fall into the lift shaft after the grill door broke which may have prevented him from ending up on the dangerous lift spring But both boys eventually fell in after Vignesh slipped out of Rudrarsquos gripSpeaking to midday from his hospital bed Rudra recounted the terrifying sequence of events He said the incident took place while he and Vignesh were playing with other children on the third floor of their residential building after returning from tuitionldquoWe were playing hideandseek and then kabaddi Vignesh was running when he suddenly hit the lift The outer door broke the grill gate swung inward and he fell into the lift ductrdquo Rudra saidSeeing his friend in danger Rudra immediately rushed forward and managed to grab Vigneshrsquos hand He held on with one hand while bracing himself against the wall with the other ldquoI started shouting for helprdquo he said As Vignesh continued to slip Rudra tried to adjust his grip In that moment he lost balance and fell into the shaft along with his friendRudra Susvirkarrsquos mother Sanjeevani sits beside him at the hospital following the lift shaft fall in Goregaon West PicBy Special ArrangementRudra said that during the fall he attempted to grab the liftrsquos support cable to save himself but his hand slipped as the wire was greasy ldquoI was conscious after the fall Vignesh was badly injured and not responding I kept calling for help but after some time I felt severe pain and lost consciousnessrdquo he recalled He later regained consciousness to find himself in a wheelchair at the hospitalIn the accident Rudra sustained fractures in both arms and his left thigh bone He is currently admitted to Matushree Gomati Hospital where doctors have performed surgery to align the fractured bones Vignesh who suffered head injuries with bleeding was taken to Kokilaben Hospital where doctors operated on his wounds His condition is stated to be stable and he remains under observationAs soon as Vignesh lost his balance when the lift door caved inwards Rudra grabbed his hand and held onWhen midday visited Rudra on Friday his parents Sanjeevani and Anil Susvirkar were by his side Teachers and classmates from Rudrarsquos school have been visiting regularly to offer support midday also learned that prayers were offered at temples churches and mosques for the recovery of both boysRudrarsquos mother Sanjeevani said her sonrsquos first question after regaining consciousness was about Vignesh ldquoHe kept regretting that he could not save his friendrdquo she said holding the housing society responsible for the incidentRudrarsquos parents have alleged gross negligence ldquoThe society collects maintenance charges and lift technicians visit regularly but they only check the groundfloor door and weight capacity They never inspect all the lift doorsrdquo said Anil adding that he had mentioned the societyrsquos lapses in his statement to the policeBut as Rudra tried to adjust his grip Vignesh slipped out of his grasp and fell but thankfully escaped the lift spring that could have killed him instantly Rudra fell after him IllustrationsUday MohiteEyewitness Arnav Kadam 15 a resident of the same society described the rescue efforts ldquoI was waiting on the ground floor when I heard a loud metallic crash from inside the shaft When I looked in I saw the broken lift door and both boys lying insiderdquo he saidKadam said he immediately opened the lift door jumped into the shaft and called out to Vignesh who addressed him as ldquoDadardquo By then Rudrarsquos father had arrived ldquoSince Vignesh was bleeding heavily near his eye we pulled him out first Then we rescued Rudra and rushed both of them to hospitalrdquo he saidPolice officials said a spot panchnama has been conducted and further investigation into possible negligence by the society and the lift maintenance agency is underwayVignesh had immediately lost consciousness but Rudra was conscious till he passed out from the extreme pain the lift springDr Shubham Shukla of Tiwari Hospital said Rudra sustained fractures in both arms and his left thigh bone ldquoThe bones have been aligned through surgery His condition will be reviewed in three to four weeks and if required another procedure will be carried out to remove the screws There is no cause for concern at presentrdquo the doctor said