Roof collapse at New Delhi airport claims one life, flights suspended

Part of the canopy of a departure terminal at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed early Friday as heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital, killing one person and injuring six others, officials said.

All departures from Terminal 1 were temporarily suspended while rescue workers cleared the rubble to rescue people trapped there, the airport authority said.

The collapse occurred in the domestic departure area of ​​Terminal 1, the main terminal of New Delhi’s main airport.

The injured were taken to a hospital, the fire department control center said.

“Due to heavy rains since this morning, part of the roof of the old departure area collapsed at around 5 a.m.,” the airport authority said in a statement.

In addition to the roof tarpaulin, several support beams also collapsed and damaged cars in the pick-up and drop-off area of ​​the terminal, reported the news agency Press Trust of India.

Of the six injured, one was rescued from a car on which an iron girder had fallen, PTI reported.

Media images showed water pouring from the collapsed roof and a taxi stuck under a pillar, while heavy rain continued to fall in the area, causing flooded streets and traffic jams.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said rescue teams were deployed at the site and urged airlines to assist any affected passengers. “Rescue operations are still ongoing,” he said in a post on social media platform X.

In May, the airport handled 6.5 million passengers in its three terminals, 8 percent more than in the previous year.

Indigo, operated by Interglobe Aviation Ltd., also announced that all flights from the terminal have been cancelled.