New Delhi: Santosh Yadav had just dropped off a Navy officer at the IGI T-1 terminal and was waiting to pick up another when he heard a thunderous clap amidst Friday’s downpour. Suddenly, a portion of the terminal canopy began to break away. Santosh tried to run for his life, but before he could escape, something struck him hard on the head. The 28-year-old is now recovering from a head injury at his home in Lado Sarai.
“The sound was like a thunderclap just before lightning strikes, and suddenly the structure started crumbling,” Santosh, an eyewitness to the T-1 horror, recounted on Friday morning. “People were clicking pictures with their loved ones, and water droplets were falling from the roof,” he said, describing the scene moments before the canopy section came crashing down on waiting cars and people. “I tried to save myself, but something hit my head. Somehow, I reached a safe place.”
Chaos ensued as the canopy collapsed. People were heard crying for help. Arvind Goswami, 34, who sustained a head injury and received four stitches at ESIC Hospital in Basai Darapur, was among the injured. He works in the hospitality department and was mopping up water when shards of glass flew at him. “Suddenly, there was a loud sound. We didn’t have time to figure out what had happened. I don’t remember much after that,” he said. Goswami added that he hadn’t informed his wife about the accident, fearing she would panic.
Dasarath Ahirwar, 25, also injured by the flying glass, could barely speak. “I received injuries to my head,” he whispered. As soon as he saw part of the canopy collapsing, Dasarath tried to run away. “It was like a scene straight out of a nightmare,” he said.
Airline staff and loaders quickly assisted the distressed passengers, providing water, leading them to a designated area, assisting foreign passengers, and helping to disperse them peacefully.
Anil Kumar, an employee of a private cab service, described hearing ‘a loud crashing sound.’ “When I came out of my office to check, I saw the canopy of the forecourt had collapsed. Around 6-7 cars were buried under it. Fortunately, the passengers were mostly away from where the canopy fell. There was chaos.
“When the crash happened, several people were at T-1. Airport staff and passengers tried to help those buried under the structure. CISF and other agencies quickly arrived, and the injured were immediately moved to hospitals,” Anil added.
A head constable at the scene mentioned that rescuers broke car windows to extricate passengers trapped inside cabs. The situation was dire, as there were at least 100 people near the spot. If the structure had collapsed suddenly, there would have been more casualties, but it first tilted and then fell, giving some people time to escape. “A family from Gujarat suffered minor injuries,” he said.
