Three split-second decisions that resulted in fortuitous escapes

New Delhi: For 25-year-old Mahima Chaudhary, a weekend trip from Agra to surprise a friend in Delhi nearly ended in a tragedy. Thankfully, a last-minute decision to skip the canteen and step outside for snacks kept her out of harm’s way just moments before disaster struck on Saturday evening.Chaudhary was visiting her friend, Anamika Attri (26), a Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) aspirant. When Anamika suggested heading to the canteen, Mahima jokingly remarked that her friend knew nothing beyond it. The two then decided to go out instead, unaware that the building housing the canteen would collapse moments later.“I had come to surprise her because I’ve appeared for the exam myself and know how stressful the final few weeks can be,” Mahima said outside the emergency ward at AIIMS Trauma Centre on Sunday morning. “We were having tea outside when we heard a loud noise and saw a cloud of dust. At first, we thought it was a fire or a gas leak.”As panic gripped the area, Anamika rushed back on learning that several of her friends were trapped in the rubble. “She spoke to Aastha, who was stuck, and immediately ran to help her. I had to pull her back,” Mahima recalled.Another pair of friends, Sachin Sharma (27) and Ankit Kumar (28), had a narrow escape. They were very close to the building minutes before it fell. “We had barely taken an auto when I got a call about the accident,” Sharma said. “Had we stayed back a little longer, we could have been trapped as well.”Ashutosh, an engineer, was inside the canteen when the building collapsed, killing two of his friends. Recalling the terrifying moments, he said he stepped away from the dining area to wash his hands. That saved his life. “I heard a faint rumble at first. It grew louder within seconds before the structure suddenly gave way, leaving people with no time to react. There was smoke and dust all over,” he said.