- The incident occurred months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a refurbishment project.
- Departures from the terminal, used for domestic flights only, were canceled until early afternoon.
- Safety and construction standards continue to be a concern in India, with accidents occurring regularly.
Heavy rains early Friday caused the partial collapse of the roof of a terminal building at New Delhi’s international airport, resulting in one fatality, according to rescuers. The incident occurred months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a refurbishment project.
Online images showed vehicles crushed under giant steel girders at the departure forecourt of the airport’s Terminal 1, illustrating one of several projects Modi celebrated in March ahead of the country’s recent general election.
“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy… collapsed around 5 am,” airport authorities said in a statement.
Departures from the terminal, which is used for domestic flights only, were canceled until early afternoon. Later flights were diverted to other terminals, which were operating as normal. Modi has prioritized infrastructure spending, and the Delhi airport — named after assassinated former prime minister Indira Gandhi — stands as one of the country’s flagship projects.
The opposition Congress party slammed Modi, stating in a statement, “Because of the elections, they inaugurated this half-finished terminal in a hurry. Today, this accident happened.”
Congress defied expectations and exit polls to deprive Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of its overall parliamentary majority in elections earlier this month, forcing the BJP into a coalition with allies.
A consortium led by Indian firm GMR operates Delhi airport, describing itself as the world’s second-largest private airport operator. GMR also holds interests in energy and highways.
Reports indicate that the consortium has contributed millions of dollars to an electoral trust that donated tens of millions to Modi’s ruling BJP — and has also funded Congress, albeit to a far lesser extent.
Senior Congress figure Priyanka Gandhi, sister of opposition leader Rahul, posted on social media platform X: “Will the Chief Inauguration Minister take responsibility for this poor construction work and this corrupt model?”
At the airport, reporters were told by Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu that the building inaugurated by Modi was not the one where the roof collapsed; rather, the collapsed building had been opened in 2009.
“Eight people have been injured, one person is dead. Rescue operations have been completed,” Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services told the news.
Reports said a section of the roof at Jabalpur airport in Madhya Pradesh, another project inaugurated by Modi, also collapsed on Friday, with no injuries reported. Safety and construction standards continue to be a concern in India, with accidents occurring regularly.
Earlier this month, at least 20 workers were crushed to death when a crane collapsed above an under-construction expressway outside the financial capital Mumbai. Last year, rescuers freed more than 40 workers who had been trapped for nearly two weeks after a road tunnel they were working on in Uttarakhand collapsed.
In October 2022, more than 130 people died when a bridge in Gujarat collapsed shortly after undergoing repairs. Heavy rains have struck Delhi in recent days as the annual monsoon arrived in the Indian capital following an extended period of heatwaves and extremely high temperatures.
The downpours have paralyzed the city, with images shared by the city’s police depicting personnel clearing trees and aiding residents trapped in waterlogged areas.
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