A canopy collapsed at the passenger pickup and drop area outside the Rajkot airport in Gujarat on Saturday amid heavy rainfall, PTI reported. This is the third such incident in the country in the past three days.
No injuries were reported at Rajkot, according to ANI. The canopy caved in during maintenance work to drain the water that had accumulated on it, the news agency reported, quoting unidentified officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
A day earlier, 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 amid heavy rains.
The collapsed portion of the canopy fell on vehicles outside the terminal building. One person was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen.
“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, on Friday.
The terminal one handles domestic operations, including Indigo and SpiceJet flights.
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. It also said that a technical committee had been formed to investigate the incident.
On Saturday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that a war room had been constituted to ensure refunds or alternate flights for the passengers that were affected in the incident, ANI reported.
“For now, terminal one is completely closed and evacuated,” he said. “All the flight movements have been shifted to terminal two and terminal three.”
Kinjarapu added: “The civil aviation ministry has decided to pass a circular to provide refunds to the people within seven days.”
The Delhi Police registered a first information report under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to death by negligence (section 304A) and causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others (section 337) after the incident.
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.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!