On March 10, India’s Prime Minister Modi officially opened the newly renovated Terminal 1 at New Delhi’s airport, just before the general parliamentary elections.
On June 28, one person was killed and at least eight others were injured, when a section of the roof at New Delhi’s main airport, Terminal 1, collapsed today.
The canopy and a large metal beam at the pick-up and drop area outside Terminal 1 of Delhi airport collapsed on Friday morning amid the heavy rainfall brought by the monsoon season.
According to the airport’s official, emergency personnel have been immediately dispatched to the scene of the accident and were diligently providing essential aid and medical assistance to those affected.
Terminal 1 announced a temporary suspension of all departures, resulting in the closure of check-in counters. IndiGo , India’s leading airline, has assured that passengers who are already present inside the terminal will be allowed to board their scheduled flights. However, for those with flights scheduled later in the day, alternative options will be provided. Local media reports also indicated that one person was still unaccounted for and was possibly trapped under debris.
Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, India’s Minister of Civil Aviation, has stated that he was personally involved in overseeing the situation at Delhi Airport. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the minister mentioned that first responders are actively working at the site and airlines have been advised to provide assistance to all affected passengers at T1. The injured individuals have already been evacuated to hospitals, while rescue operations are still underway.
Additionally, the minister has announced compensation of 2 million rupees ($24,000) for the families of the deceased and 300,000 rupees ($3,600) for those who have been injured.
The event sparked a political squabble in India, with the main opposition party immediately blaming the deadly collapse on the “corruption and criminal negligence.”
“We express our deepest sympathies to the victims of the Delhi airport tragedy,” Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Indian National Congress, wrote in a statement posted on X. “They suffered due to a corrupt, incompetent, and self-serving government.”
Kharge also highlighted other occasions when infrastructure constructed during Narendra Modi’s time as prime minister had failed.
Delhi airport has experienced several instances of disruption in its operations in the past few months, primarily caused by hoax terror threats. In the latest incident this month, a pair of teenagers was arrested after a bomb threat hoax that has interrupted the airport’s operation. As reported by local media, the minors later confessed that they did it for their “amusement.”
