Four persons were crushed to death when the 40ft-high steel frame of an illegal hoarding that was being removed came crashing down onto vehicles at a busy intersection near Pune railway station on Friday afternoon.
While two persons died on the spot, two others succumbed to their injuries on way to Sassoon General Hospital after the 2pm accident. Ten persons, including a four-year-old child, suffered injuries. One of the deceased and three injured persons belong to one family.
A video showed several auto-rickshaws, cars and motorbikes waiting at the intersection for the green signal when the metal frame fell on them. Several people on two-wheelers are seen looking up at the last moment and jumping off their bikes to save themselves. None in the autos and cars could come out, probably because the cover prevented them from realising the imminent danger.
The hoarding at the Shahir Amar Sheikh junction, whose lease had expired, fell along with the steel frame on six autos, two two-wheelers and a car. The hoarding, made of cloth, was part of a cluster of five flexes that had been put up on railway land and whose 10-year lease had expired.
“From Friday morning, the illegal hoardings were being dismantled. Around 2pm, the structure of one of them fell. There were some vehicles on the road and the structure collapsed on them, killing two immediately,” said B. Singh, deputy commissioner of police (Zone I).
The deceased have been identified as Shyamrao Dhotre, 48, and Bhimrao Kesar, 70, who died on the spot, and Javed Khan, 45, and Shivaji Pardeshi, 40, who were declared dead on arrival at Sassoon General Hospital.
Locals pulled out the victims from under the structure.
Sources said Shivaji, an auto driver who was among the dead, was returning home in his three-wheeler with his mother, daughter and son when the metal frame came crashing down. Shivaji’s wife passed away on Thursday after prolonged illness and the family was returning after immersing the ashes.
The Shahir Amar Sheikh intersection connects Pune’s Shivajinagar area with the city’s railway station, the Maharashtra state bus terminus and Pune Cantonment Road near Juna Bazar.
“Most of the time the intersection has very heavy traffic,” deputy commissioner Singh said.
“Had the accident happened in the morning or evening, when the traffic volume is much higher, the death toll would have been more,” said Chandu Parab, a Pune resident.
Pune police did not rule out the possibility of negligence in adopting adequate safety measures for the dismantling.
Senior railway divisional commercial manager Krishnakant Patil said an inquiry has been ordered. Pune police have also started a case, whose focus will be on possible negligence.
Residents claimed fire brigade and railway officials arrived at the spot after the injured were taken to hospital with assistance from the police.
“There was no signage to warn pedestrians and others around the intersection about the dismantling. Whoever had authorised the dismantling should have put up a message warning commuters,” said Pravin Shinde, a Juna Bazar resident.