It was a lucky escape for a family as their home collapsed just seconds after they exited the building at B.K. Nagar in Yeswanthpur on Monday night.
Around 9.30 p.m., neighbour Govind noticed a two-storey building shaking. Neighbors believe the incessant rains over the past week had seen water stagnate up to four feet in the area and weaken the foundation.
Mr. Govind asked the family to vacate immediately. "We were hesitant because we didn't feel any shaking. But, he persisted and we stepped out," said Priyanka, a first PU student, who stayed in the house with her mother Sharada, father Chinnaswamy -who works in a factory in Peenya, and her elder brother Pramod.
Seconds after the family came out, the building was reduced to rubble.
Neighbors said the building, which comprises of a provision store in the ground floor and a home on the first floor, was over 25-years-old. The building was constructed next to a storm-water drain over which numerous other houses have come up in the congested area.
On Tuesday morning, two heavy earth movers cleared the debris, while the distraught family rummaged through to recover their belongings.