Raktima Ghosh being shifted to hospital in an ambulance after Friday morning’s fire at Sodepur’s Readymade Centre. A Telegraph picture

Raktima Ghosh was choosing a sari for herself at Readymade Centre when it caught fire on Friday morning. Like the other shoppers trapped on the first floor of the Sodepur garments store, the 27-year-old homemaker from Khardah suffered severe gas poisoning.

Recovering at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, she spoke to Metro about her close brush with death, when all she thought was of her little son, Bubka.

I had taken a bus from Khardah and reached Readymade Centre around 11.45am. I went there — the store has been my favourite for years — to buy a sari for myself.

I was about to pick up one when someone shouted: “Fire, Fire!” Immediately, there was chaos all around.

I was too scared to think rationally and my fears were compounded by the sight of the flames.

Like everyone else, I tried to rush towards the exit but, to my horror, saw the shutters being pulled down. We broke out in protest but someone — probably a management representative — said the exit was being blocked to keep the flames away.

I didn't know what to do, thinking all the while about Bubka, my three-month-old son I had left at home.

A few seconds later, as thick smoke started engulfing us, breathing became difficult. Everyone gathered in the middle of the room amidst screams. I was fast losing hope of leaving the store alive.

Someone shouted: “Sit down or lie on the floor. You will get more oxygen.”

I followed the instruction but it was of no help. I was feeling suffocated and could not see anything through the thick pall of smoke. My eyes and throat were burning.

Helpless, I prayed — “Let me live, not for myself but for Bubka”. The last thing I remember before passing out was that people around me were coughing violently.

When I regained my senses partially — my vision was still blurred — I vaguely realised that I was being taken out of the shop. I came to my full senses at Balaram Mandir Seva Pratisthan (a hospital in Khardah). From there, I was shifted to Apollo Gleneagles.

Even 48 hours after the mishap, there is a feeling of irritation in the throat. I also have difficulty breathing everytime I try to sit up.

Doctors said I will be out of the ICCU by Monday. I was relieved to hear from my husband Sourabh, who visited me on Sunday, that Bubka was okay.

Thank God I am alive, but I might not have been.