Delhi airport roof collapse: Police file ’death by negligence’ case; DIAL forms committee to probe Terminal 1 incident

Delhi airport roof collapse: The Delhi Police have filed a case following the fatal roof collapse at Delhi airport's Terminal 1 on Friday that killed one person and left several others injured. The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 304 A (death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

Sources said Delhi Police would conduct the probe to ascertain the reasons for the structure's collapse and “fix the responsibility of the agency and people whose job was to ensure its maintenance”.

Early in the morning, a portion of the roof collapsed at Terminal-1 of the Delhi airport amid heavy rainfall. 

The spokesperson of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said the primary reason behind the collapse "seems to be the continued heavy rainfall over the past few hours".

The incident happened on the first day of the monsoon season in Delhi. The India Meteorological Department's Safdarjung airport observatory recorded 234.5mm of rainfall between 1st June and 28th June, the third highest in 124 years, the MET department said on Friday. 

"During this incident, four vehicles were damaged, and eight individuals received minor injuries and were provided immediate medical assistance," the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, a compensation of ₹20 lakh was announced for the family of the deceased, and ₹3 lakh each was announced for those who received minor injuries.

As a precautionary measure, all flight operations from Terminal 1 were suspended till further notice and "rescheduled by the respective Airlines to operate from Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 till the impacted areas are restored for operations," the DIAL spokesperson said.

Moreover, a "Technical Committee" was formed by DIAL to investigate the cause of the incident and will give the report as soon as possible. "In addition, DIAL is working with all relevant agencies to assess the situation and restore operations," the airport said in a statement on Friday.

DIAL said it is working with all relevant agencies, including Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Delhi Police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), to assess the situation and restore operations.