India, Jan. 30 -- New Delhi

Just as Rajesh Kumar got ready to cook dinner for his family of four on Monday, he heard a loud thud and before he knew it, the building collapsed, burying him under debris. For over 30 hours, Kumar, 26, his wife Gangotri, 24, their two children Prince, 6, and Ritik, 2, were stuck sideways under rubble - with nothing but three tomatoes and a prayer on their lips to keep them going.

At 3am on Wednesday, the four were pulled out from the collapsed house in Burari -- where five people were killed, and 21 rescued -- by a team of firefighters who had spent over a day devising ways to rescue the family. The under-construction four-storey building had fallen like a pack of cards around 6.30pm on Monday, burying with...