Collapsed billboard claims 3 lives, injures 59 injured in India

A large billboard which collapsed due to raging thunderstorms in Mumbai has killed no fewer than 14 people and injured 75 others.

A rescue operation was launched on Tuesday morning and authorities told the Press Trust of India news agency that 89 people had been rescued since the incident occurred on Monday evening.

It was gathered that the rains, accompanied by high winds, caused the 30-metre, 100-foot-tall billboard to fall onto a gas station in the suburb of Ghatkopar.

Videos on social media and television showed the billboard shaking amid heavy winds before giving way and then collapsing onto several cars parked in the gas station, flattening and crushing them to the ground.

On Monday night, rescuers were rummaging through the wreckage to look for bodies as they used heavy equipment to cut through the metal girders attached to the billboard.

Rescue workers continued to clear the area on Tuesday, which still had mangled cars and debris.

A city official told Press Trust of India that more than 125 rescuers were on site, including glass cutter teams, using cranes to clear the wreckage, adding that the police are investigating the incident and say the billboard was illegally installed, officials told PTI.

According to the official, 32 of the injured people had been discharged from the hospital.

Collapsed billboard claims 3 lives, injures 59 injured in India

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