Chaitanya Vuyuru, 28, who had gone to the Chennai airport to see a friend off, fell off the ramp connecting the arrival and departure areas, at 6.30 am on Monday, 29 January.
The elevated ramp is 30 feet high. Vuyuru sustained multiple fractures and died on the spot. The airport paramedics rushed to help, gave first aid and performed CPR for over 15 minutes, but in vain.
G Chandramouli, director of Chennai airport, who took charge on 1 December 2016, told The Quint:
“At 6.30 am today (Monday), a man who was sitting on the railing of the ramp fell down on to the ground. The airport paramedical team rushed to his aid. They gave him first aid for 15 minutes and tried to save his life, but he passed away. The ambulance then took him to the Chrompet Government Hospital. He had some ID on him, which identified him as a ‘Telugu’ person. The police have taken all of that with them, and they are investigating the matter. It cannot be termed a suicide yet. Investigation is still going on. The Airport S2 police station is now handling the case. It was a head injury.”
The police, who are currently investigating the matter, say it is still too early to rule out suicide.
Chaitanya is a native of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
According to Chandramouli, the railing is off limits to pedestrians. “If someone steps off the platform onto the tracks at a railway station, how is the railways to be blamed?”
The incident comes in the wake of over 63 instances of portions of the glass ceiling crashing down on the floor at the airport, raising safety concerns.
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