New Delhi: At least one person died and six were injured after a portion of the roof of the Delhi airport’s Terminal-1 fell on cars amid heavy rains early morning Friday. Following the incident, all departures from the terminal have been temporarily suspended, and check-in counters closed as a safety measure.
“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 at around 5 am. There are injuries reported and emergency personnel are working to extricate those affected and provide medical attention,” a Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) spokesperson said in a statement. “We sincerely regret this disruption and apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the Spokesperson said.
While the airport did not give details of the number of persons injured, according to Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials, one person has died and six were injured. The officials added that search operations are underway to make sure no one else is trapped in the damaged vehicles.
Besides the roof sheet, the support beams also collapsed, damaging the cars parked in the pick-up and drop area of the terminal, the DFS officials said.
In a post on X, Delhi Airport said it is extending all support possible to the families of the individuals affected. “We have announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 3 lakh each to those injured,” it said.
The recently revamped terminal — which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March this year — exclusively handles domestic carriers and is the largest domestic terminal in India, as per the Delhi Airport website. It has a capacity to handle 40 million passengers.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu in a post on X said he is personally monitoring the roof collapse incident. “First responders are working at the site. Also advised the airlines to assist all affected passengers at T1. The injured have been evacuated to hospital. Rescue operations are still ongoing,” he said.
In another post, he said, “…all flights scheduled until 2 pm have been canceled. Passengers will received full refunds or have the option to rebook on alternative flights abd routes.”
#Update on #Delhi T-1 Incident. pic.twitter.com/7KcrhL9p25
— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) June 28, 2024
In a statement, IndiGo said that the flight operations are impacted due to structural damage to Terminal 1, Delhi Airport, because of adverse weather conditions. It added that this has led to flight cancellations at Delhi as passengers are not able to enter the terminal. However, passengers already inside the terminal will be able to board their planned flights. It said that passengers with flights later in the day will be offered alternatives.
“This unplanned situation has also led to operations across the network being impacted. Customers are advised to keep a track of and confirm their flight status before leaving for the airport. IndiGo passengers can call 0124 6173838 or 0124 4973838 to seek assistance regarding their travel plans. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers,” it added.
According to a statement by the DIAL spokesperson, arrivals for Terminal 1 continued till 10.30 am. All SpiceJet flights that were to take off from the terminal are being shifted to T3, and IndiGo flights that were to arrive at or depart from Terminal 1 are being distributed between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a post on X said that aviation regulator will be carrying out a ‘high-level’ inquiry into the incident, and a detailed structural inspection of all airports across the country will be done.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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