At least one person was killed and six were reportedly injured after the canopy of the Terminal 1 forecourt in Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi collapsed at 5 am on Friday, June 28 due to heavy rain. The details of the deceased are yet to be disclosed. Following the incident, the departures and arrivals at Terminal 1 have been temporarily suspended.
According to reports, fire and rescue services received a call about the accident at 5.30 am on June 28. The support beams crashed along with the roof sheets, falling on top of vehicles in the pick-up and drop area of the terminal. A man sitting in the car was crushed to death.
"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. There are injuries reported, and emergency personnel are working to provide all necessary assistance and medical aid to those affected. As a result of this incident, all departures from Terminal 1 are temporarily suspended, and check-in counters are closed as a safety measure. We sincerely regret this disruption and apologize for any inconvenience caused," Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said.
Responding to the incident, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that he was “personally monitoring” the roof collapse incident.
Terminal 1 of the airport was recently revamped and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 10, 2024. DIAL said that the capacity of the airport was doubled and stood at 40 million passengers per annum. The operations in the terminal were suspended for around 19 months due to COVID-19 and for renovation and reopened for passengers on October 31, 2023.