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Mumbai signboard collapse squashes homes and cars, kills a minimum of 14

Rescue employees utilized excavators to clear mangled metal particles in their last search for survivors caught beneath a. billboard that collapsed in India's monetary capital of Mumbai,. killing at least 14 individuals.

The billboard, larger than an Olympic-sized swimming. swimming pool, squashed a fuel station, homes and vehicles throughout a. thunderstorm on Monday, trapping more than a 100 individuals,. according to authorities.

Rescuers overcame the night to pull people from. the particles on the side of a hectic arterial road in the Mumbai. residential area of Ghatkopar.

Some 75 injured were saved and 14 bodies discovered, the. city's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, stated.

The operation was very difficult due to the weight of. the structure and the presence of flammable liquid and gas at. the website, Mohsen Shahedi, a senior National Disaster Response. Force officer, told .

Shahedi stated the rescue operation was nearly over except. for one last sweeping search.

Our company believe there is no one else stuck. under the particles, he said.

Videos showed the imposing billboard rippling in the. wind before collapsing as a dust storm and rain lashed the city,. bringing traffic to a standstill and interfering with flights at. Mumbai airport

The firm owning the signboard did not have an authorization. from the BMC, the local body said in a statement. The. hoarding measured about 1,338 square metres (14,400 square. feet), it said, 9 times more than the maximum allowed size.

The BMC stated it had actually advised the agency to get rid of all. its hoardings immediately.

To avoid such accidents from happening again,. instructions have been given to conduct a structural audit of. all hoardings in Mumbai and instantly take down hazardous. ones, Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra state of. which Mumbai is the capital, said in a post on X.

Out of 1,300 such hoardings in Mumbai, around 30 have. not submitted a structural stability report that is obligatory. every 2 years, said Bhushan Gagrani, who heads the BMC. We. are looking into that..

(source: Reuters)