The toll in the billboard collapse in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar rose to 17 after a 52-year-old man died from his injuries, The Indian Express reported.
The man, Raju Sonawane, was declared dead at 11 pm on May 19, but the municipal corporation issued a statement on the death on Wednesday.
It said that Sonawane had been undergoing treatment at KEM Hospital.
Ten persons are still being treated for their injuries. Eight of them are in Rajawadi Hospital, while two in KEM Hospital, according to The Indian Express.
The accident occurred on May 13 at around 4.30 pm near the Chheda Nagar Gymkhana when a powerful dust storm caused the hoarding to collapse. It fell on a petrol pump, in which dozens of people had taken shelter.
After the accident, the municipal corporation said it had not granted permission to the billboard, set up by an agency named Ego Media. It added that the hoarding measured 120x120 feet, which is much larger than the 40x40 feet permitted under the rules.
The municipal corporation has issued notices to the Central Railway and the Western Railway, asking them to remove billboards on their land that violate the rules.
It also claimed it had undertaken a demolition drive against illegal hoardings “on war footing”.
The Mumbai Police registered a case against the owner of Ego Media, Bhavesh Bhinde, and others. They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections dealing culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing grievous hurt by act endangering life and causing hurt by acting rashly or negligently.
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