India billboard collapse results in 12 fatalities and 60 injuries

Mumbai: India’s financial hub, a billboard fell during a strong storm, leaving at least 60 people injured and 12 dead, officials said on Monday.

After the signs at a petrol station in the east of the city fell, trapping hundreds of people beneath, an excavator was searching through the debris as rescuers hurried to locate any survivors.

According to Gaurav Chauhan, an inspector with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), eight dead had already been pulled from the ruins.

He stated that there are still four more dead trapped beneath the rubble.

“We have found them, but this petrol pump prevents us from removing them, and the situation could be dangerous,” he stated.

Sixty individuals had been saved and sent to hospitals, according to a statement released earlier by the

 city authorities. Mumbai police posted a picture of the fallen billboard on social networking platform X, stating that it was 70 by 50 metres in size.

On Thursday, severe winds, rain, and dust storms struck Mumbai. The storms uprooted trees, briefly cut off power in certain areas of the city, and disrupted the city’s train system.

According to reports in Indian media, at least 15 aircraft had their routes diverted and flights were momentarily suspended at the city’s international airport.

The injured were receiving treatment at Rajawadi Hospital, according to Maharashtra state deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

“A thorough investigation into the event has been mandated,” Fadnavis stated in a post on X.