Mumbai hoarding collapse incident: At least 14 people were killed and more than 70 were injured when a 100-foot-long illegal hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump during a dust storm and rain in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai . After receiving information about the accident, a team of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) immediately reached the spot and rescued the people buried under the hoarding. According to the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a total of 88 people have been rescued from under the hoarding. 43 are still admitted in the hospital. While 31 have been discharged. Rescue operation is still going on.
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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the spot late in the evening. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that whoever is responsible for the hoarding falling will be booked for “culpable homicide”. The families of those who died in this accident will be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh.
The hoarding was illegal
Speaking to media persons after visiting the disaster control room at the civic body’s headquarters, BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said the hoarding was illegal as the BMC had not given permission (for putting it up). The BMC had been objecting to the hoarding for a year now. “It was an illegal hoarding. At the spot where the incident took place, four hoardings were put up on railway land and one of them has fallen. The BMC had been objecting to the hoarding for a year now. The railways had given permission for the hoarding,” he said.
According to BMC officials, the size of the hoarding was 120 x 120 feet. Hoardings of more than 40 x 40 feet are not permitted. “We had repeatedly raised the issue for action,” officials claimed. They said the BMC’s license department had also issued a notice.
A senior civic official said, “Machinery including cranes and gas cutters were rushed to the spot to lift the hoardings. Several people were evacuated. The injured have been admitted to different hospitals.”
Mumbai Police posted on social media platform ‘X’ in the evening, “Today, on 13/05/2024, at around 16:30 PM, a sudden storm and heavy rains caused a disastrous incident. A hoarding measuring 70 x 50 meters in size with its metal girder fell on the Railway Petrol Pump, Samta Colony, Ghatkopar (East).”
Mumbai Police has registered a case against the owner of ‘Ego Media’
Mumbai Police has registered a case against the owner of ‘Ego Media’ and others after 14 people died due to the collapse of a hoarding at a petrol pump in Ghatkopar area, an official said. A case has been registered against the owner Bhavesh Bhide and others under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (causing grievous hurt by endangering the life or personal safety of others) and 337 (causing hurt to another person by doing any rash or negligent act) of the Indian Penal Code.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the spot and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the spot after the hoarding fell in Ghatkopar late in the evening and ordered an audit of all the hoarding structures in Mumbai city. He announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each person killed in the hoarding fall. A senior municipal official said that a team of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) has reached the spot where the hoarding fell and search and rescue operations are underway.
President Draupadi Murmu expressed grief
President Draupadi Murmu expressed grief over the death of people due to the falling of hoardings. She wrote on the social media platform ‘X’, ‘The news of many people being killed due to the falling of hoardings in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai is very sad. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and wish for the success of relief and rescue operations.’
Under-construction metal parking tower collapsed on the road
In another incident, a metal parking tower under construction collapsed on the road during strong winds in Wadala area, injuring three people and damaging several vehicles. Flight operations at Mumbai airport were disrupted for about an hour in the evening due to poor visibility and suburban train operations were delayed. 15 flights had to be diverted and flight operations resumed after about an hour at 5.03 pm, the Mumbai airport operator said in a statement.
