The death toll in the hoarding collapse in Mumbai has risen to 14 while 75 others have been injured, civic officials said on Tuesday as rescue and search operations continued a day after the tragedy.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar assured strict action against those responsible for the incident, while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it would remove the remaining billboards on the GRP land where the hoarding had collapsed.
A 120 x 120 square feet illegal hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopa area during the dust storm and unseasonal rain that lashed Mumbai on Monday. Rescue teams were faced with a challenge, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said. were facing problems as they could not use gasoline-powered cut tools and oxyfuel cutters, which could result in an explosion or fire, as there is a petrol pump at the spot.
At least 12 fire engines and other vehicles were involved in search and rescue operations after the incident on Monday.Two NDRF teams, comprising 10 personnel, also joined the operation on Monday evening.
The civic official said two heavy-duty cranes and two hydra cranes as well as two earth digging machines and 25 ambulances were being used in the operation. NDRF teams used heavy lifting equipment weighing 500 tonnes to pull out the hoard from both sides. Used two cranes. After creating a gap of about 3.5 to 4 feet, rescue workers settled in the small space to search for people trapped below, said Nikhil Mudholkar, assistant commandant of the NDR.
During the search on Monday night, three girders of the hoarding were pulled with the help of two hydraulic cranes.He said efforts are underway to pull out two more large girders using hydraulic cranes, and once this is completed, the NDRF will be able to find out if more people are trapped inside.
Officials said so far 89 people have been rescued from under the fallen hoarding, of which 1 was declared dead. They said the injured people were admitted to six hospitals in Mumbai and neighboring Thane and 32 of them were declared dead. Has been discharged till now.
A BMC official said that the condition of one of the injured admitted to Rajawadi Hospital is critical.
Police Commissioner Phansalkar visited the spot late on Monday evening and assured strict action against those responsible for the incident.Another official said a case has been registered against Bhavesh Bhinde, owner of M/s Ego Medi Pvt Ltd, and others under culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Pant Nagar police station.
According to civic officials, the billboard was illegal and no permission was taken to put it up.
An Assistant Commissioner of Police (Administration) had given permission on behalf of the Commissioner of Railway Police, Mumbai, to put up four hoardings, including the one that collapsed, but according to a civic official, no official permission or NOC from the BMC BJP leader Kirit Somaiya asked how a police officer gave permission to put up the hoarding when the city civic body is authorized for it.
The former MP also claimed that permission for hoardings and a petrol pump (where the billboard had fallen) was given when Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.He told reporters, if the then Director General of Police had been strict, such hoardings would not have come up. Somaiya said that on paper, permission was given for a 40 feet hoarding, whereas the billboard that fell was 120 feet tall.
"I believe there are 400 such hoardings in different parts of Mumbai that exceed their size limits and stand on weak foundations like the one in Ghatkopar," he said.
Somaiya said he has requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to immediately remove such dangerous hoardings from across Mumbai. An official said the civic body has prepared a plan to demolish the remaining hoardings on GR land, Where the billboard had fallen.BMC had earlier said that it had issued a notice to M/s Ego Media Pvt Ltd for putting up the hoarding that had fallen at the petrol pump.
A senior civic official said the assistant municipal commissioner of N-Var had issued a notice to an advertising agency to remove these hoardings with immediate effect, but the civic body is yet to receive any response.Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra posted a clip on its Ax handle showing the hoarding falling and said such an incident is unacceptable.
“And we are a city that is trying to transform itself into a modern metropolis,” he said. C Shinde has ordered an inquiry into all the hoardings.Strict rules should be followed."
CM Shinde visited the spot late on Monday evening and ordered a structure audit of all the hoardings in the city. "If the hoardings are found illegal and dangerous, they will be removed immediately," he said.
"This is a very unfortunate incident. The government will investigate it and those responsible will face action," Shinde told reporters.“He announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each person killed in the incident.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar assured strict action against those responsible for the incident, while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it would remove the remaining billboards on the GRP land where the hoarding had collapsed.
A 120 x 120 square feet illegal hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopa area during the dust storm and unseasonal rain that lashed Mumbai on Monday. Rescue teams were faced with a challenge, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said. were facing problems as they could not use gasoline-powered cut tools and oxyfuel cutters, which could result in an explosion or fire, as there is a petrol pump at the spot.
At least 12 fire engines and other vehicles were involved in search and rescue operations after the incident on Monday.Two NDRF teams, comprising 10 personnel, also joined the operation on Monday evening.
The civic official said two heavy-duty cranes and two hydra cranes as well as two earth digging machines and 25 ambulances were being used in the operation. NDRF teams used heavy lifting equipment weighing 500 tonnes to pull out the hoard from both sides. Used two cranes. After creating a gap of about 3.5 to 4 feet, rescue workers settled in the small space to search for people trapped below, said Nikhil Mudholkar, assistant commandant of the NDR.
During the search on Monday night, three girders of the hoarding were pulled with the help of two hydraulic cranes.He said efforts are underway to pull out two more large girders using hydraulic cranes, and once this is completed, the NDRF will be able to find out if more people are trapped inside.
Officials said so far 89 people have been rescued from under the fallen hoarding, of which 1 was declared dead. They said the injured people were admitted to six hospitals in Mumbai and neighboring Thane and 32 of them were declared dead. Has been discharged till now.
A BMC official said that the condition of one of the injured admitted to Rajawadi Hospital is critical.
Police Commissioner Phansalkar visited the spot late on Monday evening and assured strict action against those responsible for the incident.Another official said a case has been registered against Bhavesh Bhinde, owner of M/s Ego Medi Pvt Ltd, and others under culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Pant Nagar police station.
According to civic officials, the billboard was illegal and no permission was taken to put it up.
An Assistant Commissioner of Police (Administration) had given permission on behalf of the Commissioner of Railway Police, Mumbai, to put up four hoardings, including the one that collapsed, but according to a civic official, no official permission or NOC from the BMC BJP leader Kirit Somaiya asked how a police officer gave permission to put up the hoarding when the city civic body is authorized for it.
The former MP also claimed that permission for hoardings and a petrol pump (where the billboard had fallen) was given when Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.He told reporters, if the then Director General of Police had been strict, such hoardings would not have come up. Somaiya said that on paper, permission was given for a 40 feet hoarding, whereas the billboard that fell was 120 feet tall.
"I believe there are 400 such hoardings in different parts of Mumbai that exceed their size limits and stand on weak foundations like the one in Ghatkopar," he said.
Somaiya said he has requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to immediately remove such dangerous hoardings from across Mumbai. An official said the civic body has prepared a plan to demolish the remaining hoardings on GR land, Where the billboard had fallen.BMC had earlier said that it had issued a notice to M/s Ego Media Pvt Ltd for putting up the hoarding that had fallen at the petrol pump.
A senior civic official said the assistant municipal commissioner of N-Var had issued a notice to an advertising agency to remove these hoardings with immediate effect, but the civic body is yet to receive any response.Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra posted a clip on its Ax handle showing the hoarding falling and said such an incident is unacceptable.
“And we are a city that is trying to transform itself into a modern metropolis,” he said. C Shinde has ordered an inquiry into all the hoardings.Strict rules should be followed."
CM Shinde visited the spot late on Monday evening and ordered a structure audit of all the hoardings in the city. "If the hoardings are found illegal and dangerous, they will be removed immediately," he said.
"This is a very unfortunate incident. The government will investigate it and those responsible will face action," Shinde told reporters.“He announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each person killed in the incident.
