‘I would have died too’: Kochi woman missed her first-ever flight, escaped Bengaluru wall collapse

Kochi: What began as quiet disappointment has turned into something far more difficult for Ambika Sreedharan to process - a fragile sense of relief overshadowed by deep grief.

“I was so upset about missing that flight,” said the Kudumbasree worker, her voice unsteady as she sat inside her home in Ramamangalam. “We had been planning this trip for so long. I felt left out when I had to stay back to look after my one-and-a-half-year-old grandson. But if I had gone, I might have been injured too or worse. We never really know what fate has in store,” she told Onmanorama, struggling to hold back tears.

For Ambika, the news of the Bengaluru hospital wall collapse on Wednesday evening, which killed two of her closest colleagues and left three others injured, was not just shocking. It felt like losing a part of her own family.

Ambika and the five women who travelled – Smitha Raghu, Latha, Preethi, Maya and Siji – were the entire workforce of an Amrutham Nutrimix production unit under the Community Development Society (CDS) in Ramamangalam panchayat in Ernakulam. For nearly two decades since 2006, the six of them had worked side by side in a single room, from 8 am to 8 pm every day.

“They spent more time with each other than with their own families,” said Ambika’s husband, Sreedharan, a carpenter. “They were like sisters. Smitha, who died, was the backbone of that unit. She was always punctual and the one holding everything together. We still can’t believe she’s gone,” Sreedharans said.

Ambika recalled how excited they all were about the trip, especially because it included their first-ever flight journey.

“None of us had ever travelled by air before. It was our dream to travel in an airplane. We were all thrilled. The trip was first planned before the Assembly elections but got postponed due to the election schedule. When the new date came, I couldn’t go because my daughter had to go to work and I had to care for her child. I was sad to miss the fun, but happy they could go. When I heard about the accident, I just couldn’t believe it,” she said.

The shock rippled through their neighbourhood on Wednesday evening. Sreedharan said many initially feared the worst.

“When the news broke, people were hesitant to call us directly and ask if Ambika was among the victims as they knew she was also planning for the trip. They reached out to neighbours instead. We are relieved she didn’t go, but the loss she feels now is beyond words. It was hard for us to control Ambika when she heard the news,” Sreedharans said.

On Wednesday morning, Sreedharan’s brother, Raju, had driven the five women to Cochin International Airport. Among them was his wife, Preethi Raju, who is now hospitalised with a leg fracture.

At the airport, it was a moment of pure joy. Smitha’s younger daughter, Avani, who works as an airline ground staff member at CIAL, was there to see them off as they boarded their first flight.

“They were so happy,” said Manjusha Gireesh, CDS chairperson. “They kept sharing photos throughout the journey including those from the airport, and from inside the flight. You could see how excited they were. They planned to go to Mysuru that evening. Before that, they went shopping. Within hours, that dream trip turned into a nightmare,” she added.

The 56-member group had split up near Commercial Street when rain began. The five women from Ambika’s unit stayed together, taking shelter under a temporary tarpaulin near the wall of Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. What happened next unfolded in seconds.

“We spoke to Preethi who is now recovering. She said something heavy suddenly fell on them. It took a few moments to realise that the wall behind them had collapsed. Just minutes earlier, they had been standing there, laughing and joking after shopping,” Sreedharan said.

Preethi’s legs were trapped under the debris. Beside her, she saw Smitha fatally injured.

“Smitha died in front of her but she was helpless as she could not even move. It took some time for people nearby to understand what had happened and pull them out. Preethi survived because the debris hit her legs instead of her upper body. But the shock hasn’t left her,” Sreedharan added.

Preethi suffered a leg fracture, while Siji sustained a serious hip injury. Maya remains in Bengaluru with a severe head injury. Though there were initial plans for some to return home, all three injured women will continue treatment in Bengaluru, with the Karnataka government bearing their medical expenses.

Back in Ramamangalam, the loss is deeply felt. Smitha’s neighbour Girish Kizhumuri described her as the pillar of her household.

“Her husband Raghu is still weak after surviving severe jaundice a few years ago. It was Smitha’s income that sustained the family. She ensured good education for their three daughters and had many financial responsibilities,” he said.

On Thursday afternoon, as the bodies of Smitha and Latha were brought to the Ramamangalam panchayat office, Ambika stood among grieving families, haunted by a single thought - “what if”.

Later tonight, she plans to travel to Bengaluru by bus, not for the trip she once dreamed of, but to be beside the friends she almost lost and take care of them at the hospital.