NNA - Heavy rainfall and winds brought down a roof at the main airport in New Delhi on Friday, killing one person and disrupting flights from a domestic terminal, while flooded streets and traffic snarls threw daily life out of gear in India's capital.

The airport area received about 148.5 millimetres of rain over three hours in the early morning, more than the average for all of June, according to India's weather office.

The city of 20 million people received 228.1 mm rainfall at its main Safdarjung weather station in the 24 hours ending 8:30 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Friday, a 266% departure from normal.

A portion of the canopy at the departure area of Terminal 1 collapsed and flight operations were shut down until 2 p.m. (0830 GMT), India's aviation minister told reporters.

The entire terminal, one of three at the country's biggest and busiest airport, was evacuated and an inquiry ordered into the collapse, said the minister, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu. 

Rescue work had been completed and eight injured people were taken to hospital, said Atul Garg, the director of Delhi Fire Service (DFS).

At least 10 flights were cancelled and 40 were delayed while departures from Delhi airport were running late by an average of 50 minutes, according to data from flight tracking platform Flightradar24.
Arrivals and departures of flights scheduled from Terminal 1 after 2 p.m. were diverted through the other two terminuses, Naidu said, adding that passengers will receive full refunds or have the option of booking on alternate flights and routes. — Reuters

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