One person died and eight were injured Friday when the roof of a newly renovated terminal building at New Delhi airport in India partially collapsed during heavy rain, fire officials said.
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“Eight people were injured, one person died. Rescue operations have been completed,” Atul Garg, director of the Indian capital’s fire services, told AFP.
Vehicles were crushed by falling giant steel beams on the departures plaza of Terminal 1, according to images published online.
The terminal, which is used only for domestic flights, is one of several projects inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March ahead of the general elections in the country.
All flights departing from this terminal were canceled until early afternoon, airport authorities announced.
AFP
“Due to heavy rain early this morning, part of the roof collapsed around 5 a.m. this morning,” they said in a statement.
“Rescue teams are working to provide all necessary assistance and medical aid to those affected,” they said.
Other airport terminals are operating normally, as are arrivals at Terminal 1.
New Delhi has been hit by heavy rains in recent days as the monsoon has reached the Indian capital.
Narendra Modi has committed to spending heavily on infrastructure, including expanding India’s largest airport, renamed after former prime minister Indira Gandhi. But safety and construction standards in South Asia’s largest country remain concerns.
Last year, more than 40 labourers were trapped for nearly two weeks before being rescued after the road tunnel they were working on collapsed in the state of Uttarakhand.
Separately, in August 2023, around twenty workers working on a railway bridge under construction over a ravine in the northeastern state of Mizoram were killed when it collapsed.
