DELHI AIRPORT CANOPY COLLAPSE: DRIVER KILLED WAS SOLE BREAD-WINNER, HAD DAUGHTERS' MARRIAGE AHEAD

The torrential rains in India's national capital brought relief from an intense heat wave to many but turned into a tragedy for the family of the 45-year-old cab driver who lost his life when the Delhi Airport canopy collapsed on his car on Friday (June 28).

The driver, who was identified as Ramesh Kumar, used to live with his family at Vijay Vihar in Rohini. He was present at the entrance of the airport to drop off the passenger and was heading home when the iron beam fell on his car. 

He was rescued using cutters and rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead. 

Also Read: Delhi airport roof collapse: Aviation minister orders 'structural audit' of all airports

Director of Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Atul Garg said that four fire tenders were sent to the spot along with 20 firefighters. 

Another fire officer said that the iron pillar crushed the car and the driver was trapped inside it. “We called a crane and removed the cab. With the help of cutters, we extricated the person, who was rushed to hospital where he was unfortunately declared dead,” said the officer.

Who was the taxi driver killed in the Delhi airport mishap?

Driver Ramesh Kumar was a resident of Vijay Vihar in Rohini, Delhi. He was his family's sole breadwinner and had two sons and two daughters. 

Speaking to NDTV, his son Ravindra said he is not sure how his family will manage without the support of their father.

"We received a call at 8.30 am in the morning. They told us that our father fainted at the airport and had been taken to the hospital. But they did not tell us that such a tragedy has occurred," Ravindra said.

Watch: India: Six injured after Delhi Airport's Terminal 1 roof collapses

"When we went to the airport and asked the cops what was happening, they took us to a police station and kept us there till 4 pm. Then they took us to the hospital but did not tell us that he had died. After waiting for 2-3 hours, we were asked to come the next day and collect the body after post-mortem," he added.

The weddings of both the daughters of the taxi driver were also to be held in the days ahead which has increased the family's grief as they are now clueless on how they will manage the expenses.

The family has demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident and demanded adequate compensation from the government.

(With inputs from agencies)

2024-06-29T07:33:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd