The survival story of Supratim Dutta is an uncommon story of a common man. A normal morning in the life of HCL executive turned into a battle of life. He was going to his office early morning on July 12 in a taxi. His driver fell asleep at the wheel and rammed the vehicle into a Delhi Metro Construction site at Ghitorni, on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road in south Delhi. A 5 feet long iron bar pierced through the bonnet of the car, impaled Dutta’s chest and fixed him to his car seat. Dutta called up his family and friends who took him to hospital. The iron rod had to be cut with iron cutter to release him.

Dutta suffered from severe injuries in seven main body organs. The iron bar had injured the front part of abdomen, liver (which sustained a 3-cm laceration), stomach (a 10-cm laceration). The diaphragm was ruptured in two places, and the upper half of his spleen was broken. Along with these injuries, there was a 4-cm laceration on the left lung and his ribs were fractured behind the torso along the chest wall.

When he was admitted to hospital, his condition was acute but he was still conscious. An eight member team of doctors in AIIMS operated on him. He was released from hospital after seventeen days.

People who saw Dutta’s condition didn’t have high hopes of his survival. His family members say that Dutta’s desire to live has saved him from clutches of death. Dutta’s story affirms the age-old belief that willpower can conquer anything.