Rusa paramedic discovers father trapped under collapsed Verulam building

WHEN Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) operations manager and paramedic Devan Perumal responded to a building collapse in Verulam, he discovered his father trapped under the rubble.

The tragedy claimed five lives, including his father, who communicated with him for over an hour before falling silent.

When Perumal was alerted to the building collapse at the River Range Ranch in Verulam, he led the convoy of emergency vehicles to the scene and was ready to assist.

However, on arrival, he found his 58-year-old father, Jayaseelan “Jayce” Perumal’s vehicle almost completely buried under layers of rubble. 

Jayaseelan, a self-employed electrician, of Verulam,  was among the five people killed after the four-storey building collapsed last Friday. His body was recovered on Sunday. 

He was believed to have been doing the electrical work in the new building. 

Speaking to the POST this week, Prem Balram, the head of Rusa, said he received several calls from the members of the public at around midday about the tragedy. 

“I was briefing the officers on our festive season operations on Friday when my cellphone started ‘blowing up’. We were informed that the building had collapsed, but at that stage we did not know what we were about to encounter. 

“I told Devan to lead as he was the paramedic, and his vehicle was fitted with lights and sirens. I was the third vehicle in the convoy. As we approached the area, I realised that the building which I saw daily as we worked around the area, was no longer there. At that moment I also realised it was going to be a mammoth task,” he said.

Balram said when they arrived at the scene, Perumal was the first to jump out his vehicle. 

“Within seconds, he turned to us and said ‘that is my dad’s vehicle’. You could hear the shock in his voice. When we looked we saw Jayce’s vehicle almost completely covered by the rubble. 

“I ran to the vehicle and looked through the window to check if he was inside, but he was not there. I started working quickly and put out a request for help on our social media platforms as I knew that we were not going to be able to do this alone. We received an immediate response from government and private entities. It must be said that they are all heroes. 

“It was also during this time I could hear Devan calling out ‘dad’ and other people as well calling 'uncle' for others who may have also be trapped. So, I told them to start calling their names and that is when the communication started. Devan radioed me and said he found his dad, he was buried underneath the rubble. Jayce told him that he had a pillar against his legs, but both were broken. They were communicating through messages for about an hour and twenty minutes, before it stopped,” he said.  

Balram said Perumal spent about 11 hours on the scene last Friday. 

“He did not want to leave, he looked for his dad and others that were trapped until the search was called off for the evening. That was the first time that I saw him break down. I stayed awake that night thinking about the pain he must have been going through. 

“A statement that really broke me was when Devan, who went to the scene the next day (Saturday) morning around 4am said, ‘I slept at home last night with a roof over my head, my dad slept with concrete slabs over his’. Jayce was the last person to be pulled out on Sunday at around 11am,” he said. 

Balram said he has known Perumal and Jayaseelan for more than 15 years. 

“As soon as Devan completed his training as a paramedic he joined the Rusa team. Devan is one of the most experienced paramedics on the road, having saved countless lives, both directly and indirectly throughout his career. To witness him go through such pain is truly heartbreaking. Right now, he is being strong but we can see the impact his father’s tragic passing has had on him.

“We are also greatly devastated as we have known Jayce just as long. He was a supportive father and a loving grandfather to Devan’s three children. In this job that we do, it requires two things, a person’s time and a supportive family, which Devan had with his parents. Devan is someone that will go the extra mile to help someone even if meant not going home for that night, he would do it. As a single parent, his father and mother were always there to help him and stepped in to care for his children,” he said. 

He added that Jayaseelan would have celebrated his 59th birthday on December 30. 

His funeral will be held at AFM Hope Church in Verulam today.

THE POST