At least one person was killed and several others were injured after a part of the roof of terminal one at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed on Friday amid heavy rains, ANI reported.
The collapsed portion of the roof canopy fell on vehicles outside the terminal building, PTI reported quoting unidentified Delhi Fire Services officials.
Out of the injured persons, one was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen, PTI reported.
Three fire tenders were sent to the site after the incident occurred at around 5 am.
“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy at the old departure forecourt of Delhi airport’s Terminal 1 collapsed around 5 am,” said Delhi International Airport Limited, which manages the airport. “There are injuries reported, and emergency personnel are working to provide all necessary assistance and medical aid to those affected.”
Initially, the airport authority said that while flights arriving at terminal one were operating, those departing from there had been cancelled till 2 pm on Friday.
At 11.40 am, the authority said that all planned flight operations of SpiceJet at terminal one after 10.30 am had been moved to terminal three. Flights of IndiGo after 10.30 am were being moved to terminal two and terminal three.
All flights from terminal two and terminal three of the airport were operational.
The airport authority announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the family of the person who died and Rs 3 lakh each to those injured.
Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that he is monitoring the incident as rescue operation is underway.
“Also advised the airlines to assist all affected passengers at T1,” the minister said in a social media post. “The injured have been evacuated to hospital. Rescue operations are still ongoing.”
On Thursday, a part of the roof of the terminal building at the Jabalpur airport in Madhya Pradesh collapsed following heavy rains. This led the Opposition Congress to allege corruption in the construction of the structure, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March, The New Indian Express reported.
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