Why Did The Roof Of Delhi Airport's Terminal-1 Collapse?

New Delhi: The arrival of the monsoon in the national capital on June 28 turned Friday into a bleak day for Delhiites. The incessant three-hour downpour left a trail of destruction in the city as 8 people were killed in separate incidents of airport roof collapse, waterlogging, wall collapse at construction site and electrocution.

The major incident that left the nation shocked was of the collapse of the roof of Delhi Airport's Terminal-1 killed one person and injured six others.  The Delhi Police has filed an FIR under sections related to death by negligence in the incident.

The city witnessed heavy rains from around 3 am on Friday, and at around 5 am, the rain destruction took a tragic turn at the airport's busy Terminal 1. The massive canopy covering the departure gate area of Indira Gandhi International Airport's Terminal-1 gave way, trapping several people. Besides the roof sheet, support beams collapsed, pinning down parked cars. 

A taxi driver, identified as Ramesh Kumar, was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen but was declared dead when he was taken to the Medanta Hospital facility near the terminal. The injured were admitted to the hospital.

The incident led to the shutdown of the airport terminal, which handles domestic services of IndiGo and SpiceJet at the Delhi airport. This also resulted in more than 100 flight cancellations, leading to the disruption of travel plans of passengers and the authorities decided to shift flights from the terminal to T2 and T3. In the wake of the flight cancellations, the civil aviation ministry asked airlines to ensure that there is no abnormal surge in airfares for Delhi flights.

Eyewitnesses of the Terminal-1 Roof Collapse

Speaking about the incident, a cab driver said that there was no loud noise of anything breaking when the rods of a portion of a roof collapsed at the Delhi airport's Terminal-1. The driver, Krishna Kumar said that after the rods fell on the cars parked at the site, people became aware of the incident and chaos ensued with them shouting for help.

There were fewer people and less traffic when the incident took place, Sashi, another cab driver who was at the site, said.

A police personnel, who was on duty at the time of incident, said, “As the beams were very heavy, we asked the fire department to send earthmovers immediately. Fire tenders and their officials also reached the site at around 5.30 am with earthmover machines.”

Why did Terminal-1's canopy collapse?

The season's first heavy spell of rain undoubtedly brought respite to the residents, but, the downpour also exposed the city's bad infrastructure. The incident brings to light the weak canopy structure, lack of maintenance and ill-preparedness for intense weather conditions.

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has primarily attributed the incident to persistent heavy rain and strong winds overnight, which weakened the canopy structure. 

A dedicated team led by an inspector level officer has has been constituted to investigate the exact cause of the incident. Prima facie it is suspected that an ample amount of rainwater got accumulated on the shed or canopy due to which it collapsed, the officer said. He said the structures were made in such a way that rain water could collect and pass easily.

This incident at the country's busiest airport prompted the government to order a detailed probe and an inspection of the structural strength of all airports.

Structural engineers from IIT Delhi have been asked to immediately assess the partial collapse of a canopy at the old departure forecourt of T1 at the Delhi airport that killed one person and injured at least six people.

The roof collapse incident will be probed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as well as by a technical committee set up by DIAL. 

DIAL announced that a technical committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the collapse and it will give the report as soon as possible. "Due to heavy rains and winds through the night in Delhi, a canopy at the old departure forecourt of T1 partially collapsed around 5 am this morning. While the cause for the collapse is being assessed, the primary cause seems to be the continued heavy rainfall over the past few hours," the DIAL said.

"While the cause for the collapse is being assessed, the primary cause seems to be the continued heavy rainfall over the past few hours. As per the Indian Meteorological Department, Delhi Safdarjung recorded a massive 228.1 mm of rain in the last 24 hours (mainly in the early morning hours of today). This is the highest 24-hour rain in Delhi in June after 1936, the average rainfall in the area in the last 30 years is 75.2 mm," DIAL said in a statement.

Airport Roof Built in 2008-2009

The roof that collapsed at T1 was constructed during 2008-09. The work was contracted out by GMR to private contractors, government sources said. Amid reports that L&T had constructed the structure at T1 that collapsed on Friday, the firm said the structure in question was built by another company in 2009.

"We want to clarify that L&T did not construct the collapsed structure, nor are we responsible for its maintenance. The structure in question was built by another company in 2009.

"At the request of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), L&T undertook an expansion project for T1 in 2019. The collapse occurred approximately 110 meters from the extended portion of T1, which was constructed by L&T and commissioned in March 2024. We confirm that the collapse has had no impact on this extended portion."

Congress, BJP indulge in blame game

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held "Corruption" and "criminal negligence" responsible for the Delhi Airport canopy collapse incident at Terminal 1.  Hours after the incident, which left one dead and several injured, Kharge wrote in a post on X, "Corruption and criminal negligence are responsible for the collapse of shoddy infrastructure falling like a deck of cards, in the past 10 years of Modi Govt."

Priyanka Gandhi said, "Delhi Airport Terminal-1, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in March, today its roof collapsed in which a cab driver died tragically. The roof of Jabalpur Airport, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister three months ago, also collapsed. The whole country is saddened by the poor condition of construction work in Ayodhya."

Debunking Congress's claim that the portion that collapsed was inaugurated by PM Modi on March 10, BJP leader Amit Malviya said the part of T1 that collapsed was opened in 2009, when Congress-led UPA was in power.

“The part of T1 that collapsed was opened in 2009 when Congress-led UPA was in power. In those days there was no concept of quality check and contracts were given to whoever sent the biggest kickback to the ruling Congress. Sonia Gandhi, who was then the super PM, must answer.”

Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu also clarified that the roof canopy that had collapsed was part of the old structure that was built in 2009. "We are taking this incident seriously...I want to clarify that the building inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi is on the other side and the building that collapsed here is an old building and was opened in 2009," he said.