Days after heatwave, intense rain causes roof collapse at New Delhi airport, killing 1 person

NEW DELHI (AP) — A portion of a canopy at a departure terminal at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed Friday as monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital, killing one person and injuring six others, officials said.

All flight departures from Terminal 1 were temporarily suspended as rescuers cleared the debris to rescue anyone trapped there, the airport authority said.

Terminal 1 is used for domestic operations at New Delhi’s main airport.

The fire services control room said the injured were taken to a hospital.

“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy of the old departure forecourt” collapsed at around 5 a.m., an airport authority statement said.

In addition to the roof, some support beams also collapsed, damaging cars in the pickup and drop-off area at the terminal, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

One of the six injured people was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen, PTI said.

Anees Khan, a taxi driver, said he was sleeping in his car. "Around 5:30 in the morning there was a very loud lightning sound. When I got out, I saw that the roof had collapsed and there were around eight to 10 cars under it.”

Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu visited the airport and said boarding operations at the damaged terminal were being shifted to two other terminals.

He told reporters that a thorough inspection of the damaged structure was being carried out.

An IndiGo airline official said passengers inside the terminal had already boarded their flights and those booked on flights later in the day would be offered alternatives.

Friday's rain was the first big shower of the monsoon season in New Delhi, the India Meteorological Department said. It flooded New Delhi streets, causing traffic snarls. The monsoon season lasts until the end of September.

According to the department, as much as 228 millimeters (9 inches) of rain fell in New Delhi in the past 24 hours, nearly three times the amount the city usually receives in the entire month of June. The intense rain follows a punishing heatwave that claimed at least 100 lives across India, including in New Delhi.

India is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to the effects of climate change. A report by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this year found it could cost more than $1 trillion by 2030 for the country to adapt to the changes. Climate experts say monsoon rains have become more erratic, resulting in extreme rainfall events that cause landslides and flooding.

Associated Press writer Sibi Arasu in Bengaluru contributed to this report.

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A lorry is stuck in clogged water under Minto rail Bridge after a heavy rain in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

Parked vehicles are damaged by the collapse of a departure terminal canopy at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport following heavy pre-monsoon rains in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

A highway is clogged with water near the Indira Gandhi International Airport after heavy rains in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

Vehicles are stuck in traffic on a highway near the Indira Gandhi International Airport after a heavy downpour disrupted vehicular movement in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

Passengers wait outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. A portion of the canopy at a departure terminal of the airport collapsed early Friday as heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)

A crew removes water outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport after a heavy downpour in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. A portion of the canopy at a departure terminal of the airport collapsed early Friday as heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)

A crew inspects the damage to a part of a departure terminal canopy at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport that collapsed in heavy pre-monsoon rains in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. The collapse occurred in the domestic departure area of Terminal 1, the main terminal of New Delhi’s main airport. (AP Photo)

A view the damage to a part of a departure terminal canopy at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport that collapsed in heavy pre-monsoon rains in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. The collapse occurred in the domestic departure area of Terminal 1, the main terminal of New Delhi’s main airport. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)

A crew inspects the damage to a part of a departure terminal canopy at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport that collapsed in heavy pre-monsoon rains in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 28, 2024. The collapse occurred in the domestic departure area of Terminal 1, the main terminal of New Delhi’s main airport. (AP Photo)

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday dismissed suggestions that his party was headed to defeat in the July 4 general election, using one of his final televised appearances to defend the Conservatives’ record on the economy.

Sunak told the BBC that he believed he’d still be in power by the end of the week, despite opinion polls that have found the Conservatives trailing far behind the opposition Labour Party of Keir Starmer.

“I’m fighting very hard," Sunak said. “And I think people are waking up to the real danger of what a Labour government means.”

While he acknowledged that the last few years “had been difficult for everyone,’’ Sunak declared it was “completely and utterly wrong” to suggest that Britain's place in the world has diminished since Brexit.

“It’s entirely wrong, this kind of declinist narrative that people have of the U.K. I wholeheartedly reject,” he said. “It (the U.K.) is a better place to live than it was in 2010.’’

After 14 years of Conservative-led governments, many voters blame the party for Britain’s cost-of-living crisis, long waiting lists for health care, high levels of immigration and the dislocations caused by Britain's departure from the European Union.

Sunak, who became prime minister in October 2022, has tried to silence his critics by arguing that his policies have begun to solve those problems and warning that Starmer, the Labour leader, would raise taxes if his party wins the election.

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with local children during a visit to a bakery in Golders Green, while on the general election campaign trail, in north west London, Sunday June 30, 2024. (James Manning/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with local children during a visit to a bakery in Golders Green, while on the general election campaign trail, in north west London, Sunday June 30, 2024. (James Manning/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with local children during a visit to a bakery in Golders Green, while on the general election campaign trail, in north west London, Sunday June 30, 2024. (James Manning/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak looks on during a visit to Machzike Hadath Synagogue, in Golders Green, while on the general election campaign trail, in north west London, Sunday June 30, 2024. (James Manning/Pool Photo via AP)