Canopy collapses at Rajkot Airport, third such incident in three days
According to the preliminary information, there were no reports of any injuries or casualties.
A canopy collapsed at at the passenger pickup and drop area outside Gujarat's Rajkot Airport amid heavy rainfall on Saturday, a day after New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal-1's tragic incident, reported news agency PTI.
According to the preliminary information, there were no reports of any injuries or casualties.
According to ANI, citing sources from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the canopy broke during maintenance work intended to remove accumulated water. Repair work is currently underway, and a detailed report on the incident has been requested.
Gujarat is witnessing heavy rainfall as the southwest monsoon advanced further into the state. Amid the forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in some areas, seven teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Kutch, Rajkot, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Bhavnagar, Narmada, and Valsad districts.
The incident took place a day after a portion of the roof collapsed at Terminal 1 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in the early hours, which claimed the life of a 45-year-old cab driver and left eight others injured.
The incident resulted in the suspension of operations from the Terminal 1, which handles around 200 flights a day, indefinitely. Delhi Airport, operated by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said that a roof at the old departure forecourt of Terminal 1 partially collapsed around 5am on Friday. While the cause for the collapse is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected to be due to heavy rainfall and winds.
Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu has announced a compensation of ₹20 lakh to the family of the deceased, and ₹3 lakh each to those who received minor injuries.
The ministry also ordered to undertake a structural preliminary inspection at all the airports across the country in order to prevent such incidents.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have registered a first information report (FIR) under sections 304A (death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by Act endangering life or personal safety of others) of Indian Penal Code.
A similar incident took place at Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur airport when a part of a fabric canopy collapsed on Thursday due to accumulation of water amid heavy rains and crushed a car parked below. However, no one was injured in the incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had virtually inaugurated the ₹450-crore new terminal building of the Dumna airport on March 10.
