Early on Friday, during an intense downpour, the roof of a recently renovated terminal building at the international airport in New Delhi partially collapsed, leaving one person dead and eight injured, according to rescuers.
Online images appeared of cars crushed beneath enormous steel girders at the airport’s Terminal 1 departure area. This was one of the many projects Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched in March in advance of the national election.
Only domestic planes operate out of this terminal, and according to airport officials, all departures from there had been canceled up until early afternoon.
“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy… collapsed around 5 am,” they said in a statement posted online.
“Emergency personnel are working to provide all necessary assistance and medical aid to those affected.”
It also stated that arrivals at Terminal 1 and other terminals were running normally.
The yearly monsoon has reached the Indian capital, New Delhi, and has brought with it significant rainfall in recent days.
“Eight people have been injured, one person is dead. Rescue operations have been completed,” Atul Gard, director of Delhi Fire Services told AFP.
