One person died and six others were injured when part of a canopy at New Delhi airport collapsed as heavy monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital, officials said.

All flight departures from Terminal One at Indira Gandhi International Airport were temporarily suspended as rescuers cleared the debris to rescue people trapped underneath, the airport authority said.

The collapse occurred at Terminal One, which is used for domestic operations at New Delhi’s main airport.

Parked vehicles damaged by the collapse
Cars in the pick-up and drop-off area of the terminal were damaged when support beams also collapsed (AP)

The fire services control room said the injured were taken to a hospital.

“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy of the old departure forecourt” collapsed at around 5am, an airport authority statement said.

In addition to the roof, some support beams also collapsed, damaging cars in the pick-up and drop-off area at the terminal, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said.

One of the six injured people was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen, PTI said.

A view of the damage to a part of a departure terminal canopy at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport that collapsed in heavy monsoon rains
The collapse occurred at Terminal One (Shonal Ganguly/AP)

Anees Khan, a taxi driver, said he had been sleeping in his car at the time.

“Around 5.30 in the morning there was a very loud lightning sound. When I got out, I saw that the roof had collapsed and there were around eight to 10 cars under it,” he said.

Civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu visited the airport and said boarding operations at the damaged terminal were being shifted to two other terminals.

He told reporters that a thorough inspection of the damaged structure was being carried out.

A crew removes water outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport after a heavy downpour
Crews worked to remove water outside the airport following a heavy downpour (Shonal Ganguly/AP)

Meanwhile, an IndiGo airline official said passengers inside the terminal had already boarded their flights and those booked on flights later in the day would be offered alternatives.

Friday’s rain was the first big shower of the monsoon season in New Delhi, the India Meteorological Department said.

It flooded New Delhi roads, causing congestion.

The monsoon season lasts until the end of September.

A flooded road near the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi
Traffic in New Delhi was hampered by the flooding (AP)

According to the department, up to 228mm (nine inches) of rain had fallen in New Delhi in the past 24 hours, nearly three times the amount the city usually receives in the entire month of June.

The intense rain followed a punishing heatwave which claimed at least 100 lives across India, including in New Delhi.

India is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to the effects of climate change.

A report by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this year found it could cost more than one trillion US dollars by 2030 for the country to adapt to the changes.

Climate experts say monsoon rains have become more erratic, resulting in extreme rainfall events that cause landslides and flooding.