Civil Aviation Minister to probe Delhi airport T1 roof collapse incident
New Delhi (PTI): An investigation has been ordered into the roof collapse at Delhi airport's Terminal 1 on Friday early morning that left one dead and six others injured, with Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu announcing that a thorough inspection of the structure at the airport will be carried out.
Naidu, who visited the airport, said the situation is under control and Terminal 1 (T1) has been closed down and arrangements are being made to shift operations of flights to T2 and T3.
The minister said a compensation of Rs 20 lakh will be given to the family of the deceased and Rs 3 lakh to the injured people.
The incident happened at around 5 am at the departure area of Terminal 1 (T1) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) amid heavy rains in the national capital.
The civil aviation ministry on Friday said heavy rain has resulted in the collapse of the canopy of Delhi airport T1.
"As a result of which flights to & from Terminal 1 have been closed till further notice. Alternate arrangements are being made for smooth operation of the flights," the ministry said in a post on X.
Sources in the know said flight departures have been suspended till 2 pm.
T1 has only domestic flight operations by IndiGo and SpiceJet. The airport -- which has three terminals T1, T2 and T3 -- handles around 1,400 flight movements daily.
The technical reasons and other aspects of the incident will be known after the investigation, the minister told reporters.
According to him, the structure that collapsed on Friday morning was opened in 2009 and airport operator DIAL has been to do an inspection of the structure. "DGCA will supervise the inspection and they will give a report".
Further, he said a thorough checking of all similar structures at airports across the country will be carried out.
Sources in the government said the roof that collapsed at T1 was constructed during 2008-09 and that the work was contracted out by GMR to private contractors.
Immediately after knowing about the incident, Naidu said the emergency response and fire safety teams were sent. Among others, CISF and NDRF personnel were also at the site.
"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," a DIAL spokesperson said in a statement.
As a result of this incident, the spokesperson said all departures from Terminal 1 are temporarily suspended, and check-in counters are closed as a safety measure.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a consortium led by GMR Group, is the operator of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital.
"We sincerely regret this disruption and apologise for any inconvenience caused." the spokesperson said.
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If Bumrah is not fit then a score of around 200 also might not be enough: Gavaskar
Sydney, Jan 4: Batting great Sunil Gavaskar feels India will struggle to defend even 200 in case premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah is unable to bowl at full throttle on the third day of the fifth and final Test against Australia here on Sunday.
Bumrah had left the field for scans during the second day's post-lunch session after bowling just one over, having experienced some discomfort. However, he returned to the dressing room after undergoing precautionary scans for an unspecified niggle.
India pacer Prasidh Krishna said his skipper had suffered back spasm.
The medical team was monitoring him as India ended the day 145 runs in front with four second innings wickets left on a SCG track which is aiding the bowlers.
"Look, if India scores 40 more runs or they put 185 on the board then they have a great chance but it all depends on Jasprit Bumrah's fitness. If Jasprit Bumrah is fit then 145-150 might be enough. But if Bumrah is not fit then a score of around 200 also might not be enough," said Gavaskar on Star Sports on Saturday.
Gavaskar also said maintaining secrecy around Bumrah's status is not going to help the Australians, who have so far struggled to counter the threat posed by the Indian pace spearhead.
"One thing that I liked was when he came back after the scan, obviously it took a lot of time because the hospital is a bit far, but he looked in good shape and his body language was such that there was no indication of the Australian team and it is very important to maintain the secrecy.
"Because, tactically you do not want to announce whether Bumrah will be available for bowling or not, and even if he is not available and this news goes across the opposition dressing room because till now Australian batsmen haven't found out a way to counter him, they don’t know whether they should attack, defend, or whether they should play on front-foot.
"So to execute this plan it is important to maintain secrecy, so Bumrah and the Indian team management managed it quite well," Gavaskar said.
The pacer has already taken 32 wickets in the series, and had figures of 2/33 in 10 overs before leaving the field, having removed Marnus Labuschagne in the morning session and Usman Khawaja on the last ball of the first evening.
