At least one person was killed and several others injured when part of the roof of a terminal at India’s busiest airport collapsed early Friday during storms and heavy rains, officials and local media reported. The airport suspended all flights departing from the terminal.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister posted on social media that rescue operations at Terminal 1 of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport are underway and emergency rescue personnel are already on site. Airport officials said the landslide occurred at around 5 a.m. local time in the departure area of the terminal, and all departure flights from the terminal have been suspended. Terminal 1 handles domestic flights.
Indian news agency ANI quoted fire and police officials as saying that at least one person died and at least six others were injured.
Another news agency, Press Trust of India, quoted local fire officials as saying that part of the roof collapsed into the pick-up and drop-off area outside the terminal, crushing several cars.
Photos and videos from the scene on social media and local television showed a large area of the cantilevered area outside the airport had curved into the sidewalk. The massive pillar appeared to collapse onto a row of cars, at least one of which had a driver inside.
According to flight information tracking website FlightAware, as of about 11 a.m., more than 100 flights taking off from the airport were delayed and 18 flights were cancelled. According to the airport, arrival and departure flights of major low-cost carriers Indigo and Spice Jet have been diverted to other terminals.
The terminal was recently renovated and expanded to accommodate 40 million passengers annually, according to a news release from the airport.
This is a development story.
Suhasini Raj Contributed reporting.
