The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)

‘Was told he fainted’: Son of airport roof collapse victim awaits his body

EARLY ON Friday morning, Ramesh Kumar, 45, left his home in Rohini to begin his workday. A father of four, Kumar had been working as a cab driver for over a decade now.

A few hours later, his son Ra vin der’ s phone rang.“i got a call around 8.30 am that my father had fainted. it was only around 4 in the evening that they told me that he is no more,” says Ravinder.

Kumar was killed, and eight others were injured, on Friday after a canopy at the old departure forecourt of T1 at Indira Gandhi Internatio­nal airport partially collapsed in the record-breaking June showers in the capital.

Kumar’s car was among the four vehicles that came under the falling canopy. Ravinder said though his father died immediatel­y, he was kept in the dark about it for hours. “They kept me at IGI police station till 4 pm. I didn't know till then where my father was,” says Ravinder. Another driver,28-year-oldsantosh­yadav, had a narrow escape. “I picked up a navy officer from Sena Bhawan, along with a flag officer. Around 5 am, I dropped the navy officer at the airport. The flag officer and I were waiting for another officer to arrive when out of nowhere, the roof fell. Both of us ran for our lives, leaving the car behind. A concrete part hit my head and it split,” says Santosh. He works for a cab service call eds a ks hi travels, a regular service provider for the ministry. He says he received first aid at Medanta hospital at T1 before being sent to Safdarjung H os pital.“i got discharged around 2 pm ,” says the La do Sara ire si dent. among the injured is arv ind, 34, being treated at the ESI hospital, Basai Dhara. “I work as a houseboy at the airport. My colleagues brought me here. i am not even able to talk as my head was hit,” he says. Yogesh Dhawan, 44, a staff member with the airport management, say she has suffered minor injuries. dash ra th ah ir war, 25, says, “I am still at the hospital, getting treated.” Ravinder, meanwhile, is yet to receive his father’s body .“they have kept the body for po st-mo rtem.i might receive it tomorrow ,” he says before disconnect­ing the call.

Rs 20 L compensati­on for kin of deceased

According to airport sources, those with minor injuries were taken to Medanta Centre at Delhi airport for immediate medical assistance, whereas those with serious injuries were shifted to ES I Hospital and Indian Spinal Injury Centre before being referred to Safd ar jung hospital. later, a compensati­on package of Rs 20 lakh for the family of the deceased and Rs 3 lakh each for those who were injured was announced by Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu. Arrivals continued at T 1 till 10.30 am and subsequent­flight still 2 pm were cancelled before there st of the day's flights were reallocate­d to T2 and T3 terminals. To investigat­e the cause of the collapse, a Technical Committee has been formed by the DIAL, which will submit a report as soon as possible.

The DIAL is coordinati­ng with the Directorat­e General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Delhi Police, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assess the situation and expedite the restoratio­n of operations.