Encomium
-Death toll climbs to 86, rescued now 131
A South African, Khathuatshelo Ramovha, also recounted his ordeal to us.
“I was about to eat when I heard a little sound. It was not a loud sound. It was more like the noise of two wires touching. Then the building came down.
“I blacked out and when I woke up, I was underneath the table, which my food was initially on. It was that same table that protected me from the falling rubble, which otherwise would have killed me.
“From where I was, I heard people crying, some were praying, others were screaming about their legs and head but I was not feeling any pain. I was scared, though.
“Hours after being stuck in that hole, we heard a loud noise and someone asked if we were there and we replied in the affirmative and we were asked to crawl out and the four of us did before we were taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, prior to the collapse, as I was entering the dining, I saw an aircraft flying too low as if it wanted to crash into the building. We were scared because in South Africa I have never seen an aircraft so close to a building like that even if it’s their path. It’s a terrible thing.”
