One person died and four others were injured after a portion of the roof at Terminal 1 of the Delhi airport collapsed amid heavy rain early Friday morning. Following the incident, several flights from Terminal 1 were cancelled, and many other services have been shifted to other terminals.
All flights scheduled to depart from Terminal 1 till 2 pm have been cancelled. Flights scheduled to depart after 2 pm will be operated from Terminal 2 and 3, the Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, said in a statement.
The airlines have been advised to accommodate passengers on alternate flights or provide full refunds under the regulations, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. Passengers will receive full refunds or have the option to rebook on alternative flights and routes.
"In an unfortunate development, due to the collapse of the canopy at Delhi Airport Terminal 1 today morning, a few passengers got hurt. They were promptly provided with medical assistance on the spot and those taken to hospital. Their whereabouts are being regularly monitored. As a result, all departures have been temporarily suspended and all check-in counters have been closed till further notice. Hon'ble Minister Sh Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu is personally monitoring the development," the ministry wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Minister Naid reached the airport to take stock of the situation. He was briefed about the accident by the officials, they said.
After the review, the minister said that the situation is under control and a thorough inspection is underway. He announced that a countrywide audit will be done to assess the risk.
"A section of the canopy which is outside the airport has collapsed due to heavy rains. We express our condolences to the life that has been lost in this tragic incident, four people have also been injured," he said.
"Everyone was available at the site and they have done thorough inspection so that no other casualties are there. So, right now, the situation is under control. The rest of the terminal building has been closed and everything is being thoroughly inspected so that there is no further untoward incident here," the minister added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said traffic going to T-1 departure of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been diverted at CISF check post, towards T-1 arrival.
Besides the roof sheet, the support beams collapsed, damaging the cars parked in the pick-up and drop area of the terminal, the officials said.
The Fire Service said that they received a call about a roof collapse at around 5.30 in the morning. At least four fire tenders were rushed to the spot to attend to the emergency, it added.
Terminal-1 has only domestic flight operations. The IGIA airport has three terminals -- T1, T2 and T3.
Meanwhile, the opposition leaders slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident. Terminal 1, which was recently expanded to accommodate more passengers, was inaugurated by PM Modi in March.
However, the Aviation Minister said that the roof that collapsed was of an old building opened in 2009.
"...we are taking this incident seriously...I want to clarify that the building inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi is on the other side and the building that collapsed here is an old building and was opened in 2009," the minister said.
Source: India Today
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