16 May,2024 11:41 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pic/Sameer Markande
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani informed that the rescue operation in the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse incident was completed today on Thursday, reported PTI. Expressing grief over the hoarding incident, he said, "This was a tragic incident in which 16 people died. The rescue operation has been completed. Here is an active petrol pump; that's why our rescue operation was delayed"
The BMC Commissioner stated that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered all hoardings to be checked.
"All the hoardings need a structural stability certificate. They need to follow the specifications of size, foundation and the wind velocity that passes through to provide the necessary stability. Three more hoardings are being removed," he said.
On Wednesday, the death toll in the mishap rose to 16 after two more bodies were recovered from a car stuck under the collapsed hoarding.
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As per the report, the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) rescued 74 people from the spot.
A total of 44 people were admitted to the hospital and 31 were discharged after treatment on Tuesday.
NDRF personnel have been conducting rescue operations for those trapped since Monday evening, when the billboard collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds.
Mumbai police have registered a case under IPC 304, 338, 337, and 34 against owner Bhavesh Bhide, owner of Ego Media Private Limited, the company responsible for installing the massive hoarding Ghatkopar area which collapse. Bhide has been on the run since the collapse. Notably, he has 23 criminal cases against him including a charges of rape.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased. Shinde also said that the government will bear all expenses for the treatment of those injured.
The illegal hoarding, which stood on a piece of land in the possession of the Government Railway Police (GRP), crashed into a petrol pump when the city was hit by dust storms and unseasonal rain on Monday.
(With inputs from PTI)
