A major tragedy was averted in Assam state’s Guwahati, over 1900 km east of New Delhi, after part of the ceiling outside an international airport collapsed without hurting anybody over there. The ceiling collapse occurred outside the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Assam’s Guwahati collapsed on Sunday [March 31] following a sudden storm as well as corresponding heavy rainfall.
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No injuries were reported in the incident. But the collapse of a part of the ceiling prompted the airport to briefly halt its operations. Six flights were diverted to other destinations.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. It shows a portion of the ceiling suddenly collapsing, with people and airport staff running to take cover. Other videos on social media platforms showed airport staff removing the excess water from the premises.
The Chief Airport Officer (CAO) Utpal Baruah told Press Trust of India that the storm uprooted a big tree at the Oil India complex outside the airport. The wall’s collapse also blocked a road.
“It was very old and could not withstand the impact. Due to this, the ceiling broke open and water started flowing inside. However, there was no injury and everything is under control,” he said.
Baruah also said that water entered the terminal from the ceiling.
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“I am personally monitoring the situation so that passengers do not face any inconvenience. Due to the storm and heavy rain, the visibility dropped drastically and we had to divert six flights,” he added.
The flights operated by IndiGo and legacy carriers Air India and Air India Express were diverted to Agartala and Kolkata. Following the resumption of visibility, the airport operations were resumed at the Guwahati airport. The flights are landing and taking off from the airport with reported normalcy at the time of filing this report.
(With inputs from agencies)
