VASCO
A portion of a false ceiling, made of Plaster of Paris (POP), at the arrival lounge at new Dabolim airport terminal came crashing down in the wee hours of Monday. No one was injured in the incident.
This is the fourth such incident reported in less than three years since the new Dabolim airport terminal building was inaugurated in April 2014.
According to sources at Dabolim airport, a portion of POP at the arrival lounge of the airport collapsed at 1 am. “Since there are few flights during the early morning hours, no one was hurt and the debris was immediately cleared,” informed the source.
The source said the area was cordoned off and passengers were directed to move in one line to collect their baggage.
When contacted, Airport Director B C H Negi said a small portion of the POP fell down and no one was injured in the incident. “The POP was recently replaced by the contractor, as it was giving way, but I feel that the contractor has not fixed it properly, due to which it fell,” said Negi.
“I will direct the contractor to fix another POP block in its place and will see that he secures it properly,” added Negi.
It may be recalled that on April 19, 2014, (a month after the new building was inaugurated), a section of the false ceiling near the check-in counter of Jet Airways had collapsed but there were no injuries.
On July 18, 2015, two passengers suffered minor injuries after over 25 feet of the metallic false ceiling near the departure hall of the Dabolim airport collapsed.
In another incident, a portion of the false ceiling had collapsed near the toilets on the ground floor, injuring a labourer in the incident.
The new airport terminal, which handles domestic and international operations, was completed in 2013 and was thrown open for public use on December 3, 2013.
