The injured were taken to the Safdarjung Hospital for treatment. Airport sources said that departures from the terminal were suspended till 2 pm.

The Safdarjung base station later recorded 228.1 mm rainfall over 24 hours till 8.30 am Friday. According to the India Meteorological Department, the highest rainfall received in 24 hours for the month of June, 235.5 mm, was last recorded on June 28, 1936.

“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy at the old Departure forecourt of Delhi Airport’s Terminal 1 collapsed around 5 am…As a result of this incident, all departures from Terminal 1 are temporarily suspended, and check-in counters are closed as a safety measure. We sincerely regret this disruption and apologize for any inconvenience caused,” a DIAL spokesperson said.

The capital’s administration went into a huddle over the situation. Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena called for an emergency assessment of the situation and summoned representatives of several Delhi government departments and civic agencies to a meeting later in the day.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu visited the spot before meeting victims at Safdarjung Hospital.

In a post on X, Naidu said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was monitoring the situation himself. “Following the collapse of the Delhi T1 terminal this morning, I have personally inspected the site. Our immediate priority was the safe evacuation of all passengers from the terminal. Consequently, all flights scheduled until 2 PM have been cancelled,” he said, adding that passengers will receive full refunds or have the option to rebook on alternative flights and routes.

Flights scheduled to depart after 2 pm will be operated from T2 and T3.

“I will see that a thorough examination of the terminal’s structure is conducted by experts to ensure safety. In response to this incident, all relevant agencies… have been working in close coordination and putting their best efforts. We are committed to providing compensation to the family of the deceased and to those injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is closely monitoring the situation and has assured us of full support,” he added.

The Public Works Department received more than a hundred complaints of water-logging, most of which were generated from south Delhi’s Jangpura and ITO early Friday. By 9 am, as clogged drains put traffic out of gear across the capital, the number nearly doubled to over 180 complaints.

Traffic congestion was reported from arterial routes, including several sections of the Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Minto Bridge, Pragati Maidan, Dhaula Kuan and Mathura Road among other locations.

As traffic crawled on these routes, the city’s residential and commercial enclaves were also inundated. “Many areas are completely waterlogged, the basements are full of water, desilting work has not taken place but the situation is much worse in Defense Colony,” Sharaf Sabri, president of the Jangpura Extension RWA, told The Indian Express.

The situation’s bad, Vijay Kumar Bharadwaj, president of Defense Colony A block’s RWA, said.

“If I collate my colony’s complaints then there have been over 300. Most of the areas are waterlogged, the basements are waterlogged up to 4-5 feet, the water has reached the lift areas so the electricity has been cut,” Vijay Kumar Bharadwaj , President of RWA, Defense Colony A block, said.

Meanwhile, DIAL said arrivals for Terminal 1 were allowed to continue till 10:30 am. After this, SpiceJet announced that all arrivals and departures from the terminal were shifted to T3 while for Indigo, all arrivals and departures from Terminal 1 were being distributed among Terminals 2 and 3.