Heavy monsoon rains in India caused part of a roof to collapse at a New Delhi airport Friday, leaving one person dead and six injured.
Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is New Delhi’s main airport and one of the three biggest in the country, received about 228 millimeters (about 9 inches) of rain over the past 24 hours. That’s roughly three times the rainfall the city normally receives in the entire month of June.
Friday's rain was the first of the monsoon season in New Delhi, according to the India Meteorological Department. The monsoon season lasts until the end of September.
The rain caused extreme damage to a portion of the Terminal 1 canopy, which collapsed along with support beams, causing one death and other injuries and forcing evacuations at the airport. The collapse took place around 5 a.m. The injured were taken to the hospital.
All departures from Terminal 1, which is used primarily for domestic flights, were suspended as rescuers cleared debris to rescue anyone trapped, the airport authority said.
The collapse came months after the airport underwent refurbishment.
Reports say that at least eight flights were canceled and 47 flights were delayed by about 40 minutes.
All flights designated for Terminal 1 were moved to different terminals after 2 p.m., when flight operations resumed.
Minister for Civil Aviation K. Rammohan Naidu said that all passengers would either receive refunds or could choose to be booked on an alternate flight.
A taxi was also reportedly crushed under a metal pillar at the terminal’s entrance, with an airport worker reporting damage to at least 10 cars.
Political opposition Congress Party members are blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the collapse, saying that the refurbishment was “half finished” and “inaugurated in a hurry” because of him.
Naidu told the media that Modi did not inaugurate the building that suffered the collapse and that the failure took place at an older building that was inaugurated in 2009.
Part of a roof at Jabalpur Airport in Madhya Pradesh also collapsed Friday. It was inaugurated by Modi.
India is among the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world and the Modi administration had spent $1.18 billion to inaugurate or lay stone foundations at new terminal buildings, including the terminals that collapsed Friday.
Other areas of the country also experienced damage, including flooding in the streets and a wall collapsing in southwest Delhi, where it is feared laborers might be trapped under debris.
Power outages, traffic issues and rail service disruptions were also reported.
Many specialists are blaming the weather conditions on climate change. Climate experts say monsoon rains have become more erratic, resulting in extreme rainfall events that cause landslides and flooding.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
