Bengaluru: A massive fire broke out Saturday in the parking bay of the Air Force base in Bengaluru’s Yelahanka, gutting over 150 vehicles and leading to suspension of flying at Aero India 2019.
In a statement after the incident, the ministry of defence said an inquiry has been ordered to probe the incident.
No loss of life or injury was reported, said the statement.
“All available fire fighting services, Rapid Action Force and NDRF teams were immediately mobilised. IAF (Indian Air Force) immediately launched one helicopter for aerial assessment, the helicopter assisted by providing effective directions to fight the fire,” said the statement.
The fire was brought under control by deploying more than 12 fire fighting vehicles, it added.
Flying at #AeroIndia2019 temporarily stopped due to massive fire in the parking lot. Fire under control now but flying stopped due to smoke. Most likely the dry long grass caught fire. Over 100 cars gutted @ThePrintIndia pic.twitter.com/CRHEWjcbJT
— Snehesh Alex Philip (@sneheshphilip) February 23, 2019
Earlier, M.N. Reddi, Karnataka director general for fire and emergency services, had said that dry grass near the parking lot, aided by heavy winds, likely caused the fire. However, witnesses on the ground said that the sun wasn’t too hot. They suspected a lit cigarette to be the likely cause.
The parking bay is far from the main venue of the Aero India where the aircraft are parked. Flying of aircraft was suspended for a brief period due to the heavy smoke.
However, the ministry statement said “afternoon display continued on time”.
A large number of people had turned up Saturday for the airshow as it was opened up for general public after three business days.
Also read: Surya Kirans back in skies at Aero India, pay tribute to commander killed in crash
Incidents
This was the second major incident at the 12th edition of the Aero India within a span of just five days.
On the eve of the airshow’s scheduled start on 20 February, two Hawk aircraft of the Indian Air Force’s Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team collided mid air Tuesday. While two personnel were able to eject, Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi died in the accident.
The airshow has seen a lukewarm response from foreign firms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has skipped the event.
The fire on the fourth day of the show has proved to be yet another damper. The event is set to wrap up Sunday.
Also read: At Aero India, Jaguar, Tejas & Sukhoi honour IAF officer killed in mid-air collision
This report was updated to add the defence ministry’s statement.