Part of Roof Collapses at India’s Busiest Airport After Heavy Rains
Part of the roof at a terminal at India’s busiest airport collapsed early Friday amid heavy thunderstorms and rains, causing injuries and trapping passengers. The airport suspended all departures from the terminal.
India’s minister of civil aviation said in a social media post that rescue operations were in progress at Terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and that emergency responders were on site. Airport officials said that the collapse happened around 5 a.m. local time in the departure area of the terminal and that all departures from the terminal had been suspended. Terminal 1 handles domestic flights.
Part of the roof collapsed onto the pickup and drop-off area outside the terminal, crushing several vehicles, the Press Trust of India, a news agency, reported, citing local fire officials. At least six people were injured, according to the report.
More than 600 flights out of the airport were delayed and 17 canceled as of around 8 a.m., according to FlightAware, a flight information tracking site.
The terminal was recently renovated and expanded to reach a capacity of 40 million passengers annually, according to a news release from the airport.
This is a developing story.