Jahar Ali Gayen, 24, from Basanti in South 24-Parganas, was the first of four injured masons trapped in the Garden Reach collapse to be discharged from SSKM Hospital on Friday.
Gayen had been trapped under debris for nearly four hours on Wednesday before being rescued after workers drilled through two concrete slabs. He suffered injuries to his left hand, shoulder and hip.
“I was very scared when I was stuck inside. All I could see was debris around me,” he said. He added that at least four of his colleagues were rescued in a similar manner and survived. Gayen had been working at the site for a month.
Recalling the horror, Gayen said: “We were at the site. Drilling work was going on when suddenly the ground shook. I thought it was an earthquake and the building was collapsing.” Moments later, he found himself buried under concrete and iron beams.
He said the left side of his body was still aching. His discharge papers showed he was treated by neurosurgery and orthopaedics teams at the trauma care unit.
The three others discharged were Manikchand Kumar, 22, and Sohid Kumar, 26, both from Munger in Bihar, and Mustakim Gayen, 24, of Basanti in South 24-Parganas. Fourteen workers remained admitted.
State health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee visited SSKM during the day. “We have decided to discharge 10 of them. Some were critical but are now stable. One patient remains in a very critical condition and doctors are trying their best,” he said, adding that discharges would be done in phases to free up beds.
Mukherjee also said post-mortems of three victims were pending.
“Two post-mortems are in process and the third will be conducted after the inquest report,” Mukherjee said.
Families moved between the trauma care unit and the morgue to complete formalities and collect bodies. Among them was the family of Suman Karmakar, declared dead on Thursday.
His younger brother Sujan said he identified him by his left thumb, which had been amputated years ago. “I could not identify him by his face as it was covered in mud and beyond recognition. I recognised him from his thumb,” he said. Suman was the sole earning member of the family and is survived by his wife and two sons.
Among those waiting was Annapurna Das, wife of Debasish Das, the contractor who had brought many labourers from Jagatdal. Debasish suffered eight stitches on his head along with injuries to his hands and shoulders.
“My husband won’t be able to work for many days, maybe months. How will we run our household? The government should provide a job to one of our family members,” she said.
Khalek Sardar, 40, who had been on ventilator support since Wednesday, succumbed to his injuries. “My cousin died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. He was the only earning member of his family,” a relative said.