Days after heatwave, intense rain causes roof collapse at New Delhi airport, killing 1 person

abcnews.go.com:

Part of a departure terminal canopy at New Delhi’s main airport has collapsed as monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital, killing one person and injuring six others

NEW DELHI — A portion of a canopy at a departure terminal at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed Friday as monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital, killing one person and injuring six others, officials said.

All flight departures from Terminal 1 were temporarily suspended as rescuers cleared the debris to rescue anyone trapped there, the airport authority said.

Terminal 1 is used for domestic operations at New Delhi’s main airport.

The fire services control room said the injured were taken to a hospital.

“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy of the old departure forecourt” collapsed at around 5 a.m., an airport authority statement said.

In addition to the roof, some support beams also collapsed, damaging cars in the pickup and drop-off area at the terminal, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

One of the six injured people was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen, PTI said.

Anees Khan, a taxi driver, said he was sleeping in his car. «Around 5:30 in the morning there was a very loud lightning sound. When I got out, I saw that the roof had collapsed and there were around eight to 10 cars under it.”

Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu visited the airport and said boarding operations at the damaged terminal were being shifted to two other terminals.

He told reporters that a thorough inspection of the damaged structure was being carried out.

An IndiGo airline official said passengers inside the terminal had already boarded their flights and those booked on flights later in the day