In Mumbai, India’s financial hub, rescue crews deployed excavators on Tuesday to clear tangled metal debris in a desperate search for survivors beneath a collapsed billboard.
The incident, which occurred late Monday, resulted in the deaths of at least 14 individuals.
According to Reuters, the billboard, larger than an Olympic-sized swimming pool, collapsed during a thunderstorm, crushing a fuel station, homes, and cars, and trapping more than 100 people.
Rescuers worked through the night in the Mumbai suburb of Ghatkopar to pull people from the debris on the side of a busy arterial road.
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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation reported that 75 wounded individuals were rescued and 14 bodies were found.
Mohsen Shahedi, a senior officer from the National Disaster Response Force, described the rescue operation as very challenging due to the weight of the structure and the presence of flammable liquids and gas at the site.
He stated that the operation was nearly complete, with only a final sweep remaining, and expressed confidence that no one else was trapped under the debris.
Videos showed the towering billboard swaying in the wind before it collapsed amid a dust storm and heavy rain, causing traffic to halt and disrupting flights at Mumbai airport.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation revealed that the agency responsible for the billboard lacked the necessary permit, noting that the billboard spanned approximately 1,338 square meters (14,400 square feet), which is nine times larger than the maximum allowable size.
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