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Mumbai hoarding collapse: The billboard fell on a petrol station in Ghatkopar East during the dust storm. Seven people were injured.
A massive hoarding collapsed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar amid strong winds and dust storm that struck the city early Monday evening, killing fourteen people and injuring at least 76.
"Some people are feared trapped under the hoarding and a search and rescue operation is underway," a civic body said.
A dramatic video showed the 100-feet white billboard falling on a petrol station in Ghatkopar East. Rains and gusty winds lashed parts of Mumbai and neighbouring districts on Monday, disrupting Metro and local train services.
#WATCH I A large billboard collapsed in Ghatkopar during the dust storm that whipped through the city this afternoon. This post will be updated with information about those injured, if any. Video sourced by @RajuShinde09 pic.twitter.com/1GEJT4wfCE
— HTMumbai (@HTMumbai) May 13, 2024
Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar said stringent action will be taken against those responsible for the hoarding collapse. A case was registered against Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of M/s Ego Media Private Limited and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Pant Nagar police station, another official said.
The weather office issued a "nowcast warning," predicting a thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and moderate to intense rainfall for Mumbai, as well as the neighboring districts of Thane and Palghar.
"Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph is very likely to occur at isolated places in Mumbai in the next 3-4 hours," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.
The Mumbai Metro and local trains, the lifeline of the city's public transport, were affected due to the unseasonal rain and the chaos that followed. Metro services were suspended between Aarey and Andheri East metro stations after a banner landed on the overheard wire due to strong winds, a spokesperson from Metro Rail said.
Local train services too were impacted after an overhead equipment pole between Thane and Mulund stations got bent due to strong winds, an official said. The suburban services on the Main Line were also suspended, the chief spokesperson of Central Railway said.
A video capturing the devastating dust storm that ravaged the city of Mumbai on May 13 was shared on social media. The timelapse footage, taken at the airport, depicts the sky engulfed in a dense sheet of grey.
The dust storm and the rain that whipped through the city were among the top talking points on the internet on Monday evening and topped the all-India trends on X (formerly Twitter) and Google, as people shared photos and videos from the city.
Many users also said the rain brought a respite from the scorching summer heat.
Sandstorm in Mumbai 13.05.24@mumbaimatterz @RoadsOfMumbai @TOIMumbai @RamzPuj @htTweets @CSMIA_Official pic.twitter.com/3RWLvQYJxw
— goabombay (@pranavkelkar) May 13, 2024