Rescuers search after deadly billboard fall in Mumbai
STORY: Rescuers used excavators to clear mangled metal debris on Tuesday (May 14) in their final search for survivors trapped beneath a billboard in Mumbai.
The hoarding, which was bigger than an Olympic swimming pool, collapsed during a thunderstorm in India’s financial capital on Monday (May 13).
It crushed a gas station, homes and cars, killing several people and trapping more than a hundred, authorities said.
Rescuers worked through the night to pull people out, but were facing an additional challenge.
Gas cutters could not be used at the site due to the fuel pump nearby, meaning the operation took longer than expected.
The huge advertizing board measured about 14,400 square feet.
That's nine times more than the maximum permitted size for a hoarding.
A local municipal body said the agency owning the signboard did not have a permit to put it up.
Adding that it had instructed the agency to remove all its billboards immediately.
As a dust storm and rain lashed the city Monday evening, the billboard billowed in the wind before collapsing, bringing traffic to a standstill and disrupting flights at Mumbai airport.
