Rajkot Airport canopy collapse: third incident in three days raises safety concerns

On Saturday, a canopy collapsed at the passenger pickup and drop area outside Gujarat's Rajkot Airport amid heavy rainfall. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries or casualties. This incident occurred just a day after a tragic roof collapse at Terminal 1 of New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, which claimed the life of a cab driver and injured eight others.

The heavy rainfall in Gujarat is part of the advancing southwest monsoon. The forecast predicts heavy to very heavy rainfall in some areas. As a precaution, seven teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in various districts including Kutch, Rajkot, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Bhavnagar, Narmada, and Valsad.

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Recent incidents and response

The Rajkot incident came just after the roof collapse at Delhi's Terminal 1, which has led to an indefinite suspension of operations. The collapse, suspected to be caused by heavy rain and winds, occurred around 5 a.m. on Friday, partially collapsing the old departure forecourt roof. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu announced a compensation of ₹20 lakh to the family of the deceased and ₹3 lakh each to those who were injured.

The ministry has ordered a structural inspection at all airports across the country to prevent such incidents in the future. Meanwhile, Delhi Police have registered a first information report (FIR) under sections 304A (death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

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In a similar incident on Thursday, a fabric canopy at Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur airport collapsed due to water accumulation from heavy rains, crushing a car parked below. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the ₹450-crore new terminal building of Dumna airport virtually on March 10.