Ludhiana blast: 'Fearing building collapse, we rushed out'

Ludhiana, December 23

Soon after the blast, judges attending courtrooms, lawyers present in chambers and visitors to the complex rushed out to save their lives.

As the blast shook the building, it took time for many to realise the gravity of the situation. On hearing the sound, some felt it was an LPG cylinder explosion, while others suspected it to be a roof collapse.

Loud noise shook everyone

A loud noise shook everyone, including the judge. Fearing the entire six-storey building would crumble, people ran out to save their lives. Davinder Sharma, eyewitness

Davinder Sharma, an eyewitness who was there for a hearing, said he was in the courtroom on the same floor when the blast occurred. “A loud noise shook everyone, including the judge,” he recalled.

The judge and his staff vacated the courtroom and those present in the complex rushed out of the building. “Fearing the entire six-storey building would crumble, people ran out to save their lives,” he said.

Advocate Harjot Singh, another eyewitness, said two women standing near the public toilet, where the blast occurred, were knocked off their feet and lost consciousness.

“I was standing near chamber No. 209. The woman who owns a photocopy counter and another standing nearby fell to the ground. My colleague Kuldeep Singh was trapped under the debris of the washroom. We retrieved him and took him to hospital with head injuries,” he said. Smoke engulfed the floor for a few minutes, he added. — TNS