Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: How fire brigade saved first 50 lives

The billboard that fell on the ill-fated petrol pump in Ghatkopar East, on Wednesday. Pic/Shadab Khan

Even 48 hours on, a team comprising more than 300 fire brigade, police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel was struggling to move the giant hoarding - touted by its owner to be the largest such billboard in Asia - that collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar, claiming 16 lives so far. Officials have been risking life and limb to save those trapped beneath debris in one of the biggest rescue operations witnessed this decade in the city. Left with no option, fire brigade officials on Tuesday night risked using gas cutters to dismantle the iron frame below which many people are still feared to be trapped. Here is a detailed account of how the rescue operation unfolded.

A vehicle that was removed from beneath the billboard's metal frame. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

Around 4.10 pm on May 13, due to unexpected rain and a dust storm, the 120×120-foot hoarding collapsed on a Bharat Petroleum pump on the Eastern Express Highway in Ghatkopar. Because of the sudden change in weather, motorists and bikers had taken shelter at the pump. Around 30 cars and trucks had queued at the station for refuelling purposes. As per the fire brigade and police, about 120-130 people got trapped under the hoarding. Some managed to phone their relatives and friends for help. After cops and fire brigade team reached the spot, live-saving rescue operations commenced.

Automobiles squashed flat beneath the massive hoarding. Pic/Shadab Khan

Heeding the advice of experts, the fire brigade and BMC decided to lift the hoarding with the help of a crane as the first step of the rescue operation. A 200-tonne crane reached the spot around 7 pm but failed to lift the frame. The Mumbai police then contacted Amrik Singh & Sons Crane Services, whose office is at Suman Nagar in Chembur. The company sent a 500-tonne crane and it was anticipated that it could easily lift the hoarding from one corner.

Illustrations/Uday Mohite

The crane operator informed mid-day that he was instructed to lift the hoarding and move it to the side, but the attempt failed. The operator decided to lift the hoarding temporarily, and this made a difference. Around 60-70 people trapped under the hoarding rushed out. The fire brigade managed to remove around 14 bodies from the debris during this attempt. As the crane could not bear the weight of the hoarding for too long, it was eventually lowered to its original position.

Around 17 fire brigade vehicles with 68 fire brigade personnel had reached the spot by 4.30 pm. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Harishchandra Raghu Shetty said, "After the hoarding was lifted with a crane, we started the rescue operation by cutting iron rods with the help of the hydraulic cutting machines. We also sought permission from Bharat Petroleum to use the gas cutter machines but didn't get permission on day one." To begin with, the fire brigade officials cut the iron pillars of the hoarding. It took them nearly an hour to complete this task.

"In the evening of May 14, we received permission to use gas cutter machines. We used high-pressure water sprays while cutting the iron rods to avoid fires," Shetty said. Meanwhile, the NDRF team rushed to the spot to assist the rescue operation.

As per officials, the hoarding possibly weighs around 120 tonnes. The fire brigade officers and BMC decided to break down the hoarding into 21 strips. The hoarding is six layers thick and has iron rods measuring up to 15-20 feet. The fire brigade delineated the hoarding into 21 parts and formed various teams to trace survivors.

After almost 10 to 12 hours, the team managed to split the hoarding according to its plan. The team then began the process of cutting it vertically by separating the 21 iron boxes behind the hoarding, making it easy for the crane to clear the rubble. Fire brigade officials used JCB machines, cutter machines, various cranes, trucks and more than 50 labourers for this job.

"We could hear the screams of helpless people who were trapped beneath the hoarding till Wednesday morning. The vertical cuts to the hoarding helped create a tunnel-like opening, thanks to which 11 people were rescued," a fire brigade official said. A team of doctors and an ambulance have been kept on standby at the spot to take the injured to the hospital. By Wednesday night, the fire brigade had removed around 18 bikes, seven to eight cars and three to four trucks from the spot. So far, only 30-40 per cent of the hoarding's iron parts have been removed by the rescue team. The rescue operation is expected to continue for another 48 hours or more, the officials said. The anxious family members of those suspected to be trapped under the billboard were seen at the site.