The airport authority has temporarily suspended all departures from the affected Terminal 1 to clear the debris.
At least one person was killed after the roof of a terminal building at the Indian capital’s main airport partially collapsed due to heavy rains, forcing the cancellation of several domestic flights.
The incident occurred at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport early on Friday, following which authorities evacuated Terminal 1 and suspended flights until 2 pm (08:30 GMT), Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu told reporters, confirming the incident.
At least eight people were injured in the accident in the domestic departure area of the terminal, Delhi Fire Services Director Atul Garg said.
Images circulating showed a taxi crushed under a broken metal pole at the entrance area of the terminal, which is mostly used by low-cost airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet for domestic flights.
The airport authority said the incident was caused by “heavy rain” that fell at 5 am (23:30 GMT on Thursday).
“Emergency personnel are working to provide all necessary help and medical assistance to the affected people,” the authority said in a statement.
Some support beams also collapsed in addition to the roof, damaging cars parked in the terminal’s pick-up and drop-off area, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
The airport area received about 148.5 mm of rain in three hours in the early morning, more than the average rainfall for the entire month of June, according to the India Meteorological Department. Many other parts of the capital were flooded as the annual monsoon arrived after a prolonged heatwave.
The incident came months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a renovation project at the airport, which is considered one of his flagship infrastructure projects.
Safety and construction standards remain a concern in the country. Naidu told reporters at the spot that the collapsed roof was part of an old building opened in 2009 and the building inaugurated by Modi “is on the other side”.
The Minister Said a Probe Has Been Ordered into The Accident.
The incident prompted opposition leaders to criticise the prime minister and accused him of holding an “inauguration ceremony” ahead of elections held earlier this month.
“Will the chief inaugurator take responsibility for this shoddy construction work and this corrupt model?” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, general secretary of the opposition Congress party, asked.
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