Maharashtra: Five Killed After Hoarding Collapses Due To Strong Winds

Bringing back the grim memory of the 2018 Pune hoarding collapse incident, four people were killed in neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad on Monday when a billboard collapsed on them.

A crane tries to remove the debris of the hoarding, which crash in Pimpri-Chinchwad, killing five persons.

Source : ANI

At least five people died in the Ravet Kivale area of Pimpri-Chinchwad township in Pune district of Maharashtra on Monday after an iron hoarding fell on them. According to the police, the victims were seeking shelter from strong winds and huddled under the hoarding along the Mumbai-Pune highway. 

However, the wind proved too strong for the hoarding to stand upright and the massive structure collapsed on them. It killed five and injured two persons, reported news agency PTI. Currently, the police are conducting a search operation to ensure that no one else is trapped under the hoarding. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Pimpri-Chinchwad ACP Padmakar Ghanwat said: "Due to heavy rains and wind, the hoarding fell on people who were standing under it for shelter. Four women and a man have died, three others are injured."

The incident was a grim reminder of the 2018 hoarding collapse in neighbouring Pune that killed four persons. The incident occurred on October 6 when a hoarding that was 40 feet tall fell on vehicles on the adjacent road, killing four people, including a 40-year-old man who was returning home after immersing his wife’s ashes. The incident occurred at Juna Bazaar Chowk near Pune Railway Station, where vehicles had stopped at a traffic light. The collapse damaged five auto-rickshaws, a two-wheeler, and a car. Five people were injured.

Two Central Railways (CR) employees, a junior engineer, and his assistant were arrested in connection with the incident. The railways had awarded a contract to an outdoor advertisement agency to put up hoardings on the railway premises. But as the agency did not follow safety norms, it was asked to remove the structures. Since the agency did not dismantle the structures, the railways hired a contractor to remove them. It was being dismantled when the structure collapsed.

In June next year, a senior citizen was killed in Mumbai after a concrete hoarding sheet was uprooted by strong winds and crashed on him. The same day, a massive acrylic banner collapsed on three women, seriously injuring them.