At least one person died and around six were injured after a portion of the roof of the Delhi airport's Terminal-1 fell on cars, including cabs, amid heavy rains in the early hours of Friday, according to officials and media reports.

Support beams collapsed too, on cars parked in the pick-up and drop area of the terminal.

This came hours after a portion of a canopy of the new terminal building of Jabalpur airport in Madhya Pradesh fell on a car after rain. The car belonged to an income tax official. No one was injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, the injured have been taken to hospital and a search is underway to ensure no one is trapped in the damaged vehicles. Of these, one was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen, fire officials told news agency PTI. 

Three fire-tenders were sent to the airport after a call about the incident was received by the Delhi fire service around 5.30 am, The Hindu reported. The paper also reported there were three casualties.

“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy at the old Departure forecourt of Delhi Airport’s Terminal 1 collapsed around 5 am. There are injuries reported, and emergency personnel are working to provide all necessary assistance and medical aid to those affected,” an airport spokesperson told the paper. “As a result of this incident, all departures from Terminal 1 are temporarily suspended, and check-in counters are closed as a safety measure. We sincerely regret this disruption and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

“At around 5 am, due to heavy rains, the shed outside Terminal 1 of IGIA (domestic airport), spanning from Departure Gate No. 1 to Gate No. 2, collapsed, in which around four vehicles have been damaged and around six persons have been injured and one person has died. All injured persons are stable. Delhi police, fire service, CISF & NDRF teams are present on spot. Legal action is being taken,” said DCP (IGI) Usha Rangnani.

In a post on X, civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu said that he is personally monitoring the situation. He also announced a Rs 20 lakh compensation for the deceased, and Rs 3 lakh for the injured.

Naidu said: “Terminal 1 has been completely evacuated. It could take until tomorrow to resume operations and carry out inspections”

The Delhi traffic police said terminal 1 departure is non-functional and passengers headed to the airport must use the arrival section. Visuals circulated by the media showed water pouring from the collapsed roof and a taxi stuck under a pillar, even as rain continued to pelt down in several parts of the national capital, leading to inundated roads and traffic jams.

Meanwhile, several opposition leaders hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident, saying an “incomplete terminal” was hurriedly inaugurated in March with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls.

PM Modi had on March 10 inaugurated or laid the foundation stone of 15 airport projects across the country which are worth more than Rs 9,800 crore. Among these was the expanded Terminal 1. 

Aviation minister Naidu said that the roof that collapsed “was constructed during 2008-09. The part of the building inaugurated by the PM is on the other side”.

Several social media users expressed shock over the incident, including those who claimed to have used the Delhi airport recently.

Update at 10:50 am: This report has been updated with additional information about compensation announced by the civil aviation minister.

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