New Delhi, June 28 (EFE).- At least one person died and six were injured on Friday when a part of the roof of Terminal 1 at New Delhi Airport collapsed, after a night of intense rainfall that has left parts of the city submerged and led to the cancellation of several flights.
“At around 5 am, the shed outside Terminal 1 of IGIA (domestic airport), spanning from Departure Gate No. 1 to Gate No. 2, collapsed, in which around 4 vehicles have been damaged and around 6 persons have been injured and one person has died,” Deputy Commissioner of Police at IGI Airport, Usha Rangani, told India’s ANI agency.
“Delhi police, fire service, CISF & NDRF (paramilitary and disaster response forces) teams are present on the spot. Legal action is being taken,” she added.
All aircraft departures from Terminal 1 have been canceled until 2pm local time and check-in desks have also been closed, New Delhi airport said in a statement.
Although initially the flights that landed at the terminal remained operational initially, they were subsequently transferred to Terminals 2 and 3, whose activity was not affected, added the statement published in social network X.
Indian Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu told the media that they would launch an investigation to find the reasons for the collapse, claiming it was due to a technical problem aggravated by heavy rains in New Delhi.
Naidu also announced a compensation of two million rupees (about $24,000) for the family of the deceased and 300,000 rupees (almost $3,600) for the injured.
The Indian capital, with a population of some 22 million, recorded heavy rains on Friday that caused flooding in several neighborhoods.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects heavy rainfall to continue over the weekend in New Delhi.
The rainfall comes as a relief for the capital, which has been witnessing an extremely hostile summer for a prolonged period. EFE
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