Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds lashed India’s financial capital Mumbai on Monday, killing at least eight people, uprooting trees and causing power outages in many parts of the city, officials said.
The deaths were caused by a large billboard which overturned on a crowd of people seeking shelter, a local official said.
Rescuers from the Indian National Disaster Force and local police were called in to help free dozens of people trapped in the rubble in the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar. A video posted on social media showed the billboard shaking in the storm before falling.
A witness, Swapnil Khupte, said that when the rains and wind started to get worse, he and his friends took shelter at a gas station near the billboard. When it collapsed, he said, most of the people trapped under the building were women and children.
“All the cars, bikes and people who were there got stuck,” he told a local news agency. “We helped people get out and escape. »
Mumbai, home to more than 18 million people, is located on a peninsula surrounded by the sea. Like many other Indian cities, it is prone to severe flooding and rain-related accidents during the monsoon season. , which extends from June to September.
In recent years, India has experienced extreme weather events, including record heatwaves and heavy flooding. The arrival of the monsoon last year also caused damage and deaths in many other parts of the country.
A total of 64 people were injured when the billboard toppled over on Monday and were admitted to hospital. said Bhushan Gagrani, an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which manages Mumbai. One was listed as being in critical condition.
The rains were followed by Sandstorm which some locals compared to a scene from a Hollywood movie. Mumbai airport authorities said they diverted more than a dozen incoming flights and suspended operations for over an hour.
Although Monday’s rains provided some relief from the sweltering heat, many parts of the city were flooded and there were long traffic jams.
