Early Friday morning, Ramesh Kumar, a 45-year-old cab driver and father of four from Rohini, began his usual workday. A few hours later, his son Ravinder received a call informing him that his father had fainted. It wasn’t until 4 PM that Ravinder learned his father had died.
Kumar was killed, and eight others were injured when a canopy at the old departure forecourt of Terminal 1 at Indira Gandhi International Airport partially collapsed during record-breaking June rains. Kumar’s car was one of four vehicles crushed under the falling structure. Ravinder, who spent hours at the IGI police station, was kept in the dark about his father’s death until the afternoon.
Another driver, 28-year-old Santosh Yadav, narrowly escaped the collapse. “I picked up a navy officer from Sena Bhawan, along with a flag officer. Around 5 AM, I dropped the navy officer at the airport. The flag officer and I were waiting for another officer to arrive when the roof suddenly fell. Both of us ran for our lives, leaving the car behind. A concrete piece hit my head,” said Santosh, who works for Sakshi Travels. He received first aid at Medanta hospital at T1 before being transferred to Safdarjung Hospital, from where he was discharged around 2 PM.
#WATCH | “A roof collapsed at Terminal-1 of Delhi airport. 3 fire tenders were rushed to the spot”, says an official from Delhi Fire Services
(Video source – Delhi Fire Services) pic.twitter.com/qdRiSFrctv
— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2024
Among the injured was 34-year-old Arvind, who works as a houseboy at the airport. He was taken to ESI hospital, Basai Dhara, by his colleagues. “My head was hit, and I’m not even able to talk,” he said. Yogesh Dhawan, 44, a staff member with airport management, suffered minor injuries. Dashrath Ahirwar, 25, is also still receiving treatment at the hospital.
Ravinder is still awaiting the release of his father’s body, which is being kept for post-mortem. “I might receive it tomorrow,” he said.
Following the incident, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu announced a compensation package of Rs 20 lakh for the family of the deceased and Rs 3 lakh each for those injured. The minister stated that arrivals continued at T1 until 10:30 AM, and subsequent flights until 2 PM were canceled before the rest of the day’s flights were redirected to T2 and T3 terminals.
Airport sources indicated that individuals with minor injuries were treated at Medanta Centre at Delhi airport, while those with serious injuries were taken to ESI Hospital and the Indian Spinal Injury Centre before being referred to Safdarjung Hospital.
A Technical Committee has been formed by the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to investigate the cause of the collapse and will submit its report soon. DIAL is coordinating with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Delhi Police, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assess the situation and expedite the restoration of operations.
