A massive fire broke out Saturday in the parking lot of the Yelahankha Air Force Station in Bengaluru where the Aero India 2019 show is underway. The incident happened at about 12.17 pm, while the morning flying display was in progress.A wave of black smoke was seen above the air base and officials rushed to control the fire.
As fire department says, the fire was controlled by creating a gap between the adjacent cars though over 300 cars were gutted in the fire. The cause of the blaze is unknown and no injuries have been reported so far.
Officials said the fire likely started on dry grass, and spread quickly, aided by strong winds. Firemen tried controlling the blaze by moving unaffected vehicles away from the fire zone.
The fire broke out just moments after badminton star PV Sindhu took to the skies co-piloting the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas’ trainer variant. It forced a suspension of further display for the morning, and no other plane took off after Sindhu’s.
The area in which fire broke out belongs to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and, it was far away from the Aero India venue, separated by Ballari road, which leads to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
Officials said the fire has now been controlled, and no one sustained injuries.
The five-day biennial airshow got underway on a sombre note with the IAF flying a special “missing man’’ formation in memory of Wg Cdr Sahil Gandhi, 37, who died when a Hawk 132 aircraft crashed during a rehearsal for the event on Tuesday.
One of the highlights of the flying display on an opening day was the Rafale fighter jet by French firm Dassault Aviation
