Billboard Collapses Near Pune, 3 Days After Mumbai Incident That Killed 16

Three days after a billboard came crashing down in Mumbai, killing 16 people and injuring over 40 others, a hoarding has collapsed in Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune because of strong winds. The hoarding fell on a parked tempo, a car and a few two-wheelers, but no injuries have been reported. 

The incident occurred around 4.30 pm on Thursday in the city's Moshi area and videos showed officials from the fire department, the police and the civic body at the spot, where efforts were on to clear the area of debris.

Manoj Lonkar, the fire officer-in-charge of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, said, "The fire brigade began work after information was received. The hoarding collapsed on a tempo, a car and a couple of two-wheelers, but there have been no casualties. The tempo which was trapped under the hoarding has been freed and gas-cutting is being done to remove the billboard."

In April last year, a hoarding had collapsed on a service road in Pimpri Chinchwad, killing five people, who had taken shelter underneath it because strong winds were blowing. The civic body had sought structural stability certificates from billboard owners, but many are yet to submit them for this year.

Mumbai's tragedy occurred on Monday, when a billboard collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar during a dust storm. The number of people killed went up to 16 on Wednesday after the bodies of a 60-year-old man and his 59-year-old wife were recovered from their car inside the fuel station. 

The hoarding was a 120X120-foot structure and the Mumbai civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has said it does not allow billboards with measurements exceeding 40X40 feet. 

Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of Ego Media, the company that erected the billboard, has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Bhinde has over 20 cases against him, including one of rape filed in January this year, and is on the run. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the people who were killed in the tragedy and has also said that the government will bear the cost of treatment for those who were injured.