DELHI AIRPORT ROOF COLLAPSES, 1 KILLED

Six hurt; widespread concern amid political blame game

- 

As early morning rains lashed the _capital city, a canopy at Delhi airport's busy Terminal 1 came crashing down on Friday early morning, killing a cab driver and injuring six others.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu visited Terminal-1 (T1) to take stock of the situation. He said he was monitoring the situation and the injured had been hospitalised.

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials said three fire tenders were rushed to Terminal-1 (T1) of the airport after a call about the incident was received around 5:30 am.

Besides the roof sheet, the support beams collapsed, damaging the cars parked in the pick-up and drop area of the terminal. A search operation was conducted to make sure no one was trapped inside the damaged vehicles, they said.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital near the airport. One of them was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen. He was later identified as Ramesh Kumar, they added.

Work was underway to clear the debris.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said due to heavy rains, the shed outside Terminal-1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), spanning from departure gate no. 1 to gate no. 2, collapsed around 5 am, damaging four vehicles.