Fire rages near airport, no harm done
A wildfire spread across dry bushes near the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Tuesday, prompting airport authorities to close the country’s sole international airport for some time and leaving people in nearby settlements panic-stricken.
However, no one was hurt and no major damage was reported in the incident.
The team leader of the country’s oldest fire brigade, Juddha Barun Yantra, said they had to bite the bullet to save the airport building from the blaze.
Though a dozen fire brigades reached the site from in and outside the airport, the situation went turbulent as the fire spread rapidly to a larger area covered by dry straw. “It was difficult to decide where to focus first. The fire was leaping from all directions. No one could have handled the situation had the blaze reached the fuel tanks,” said Leela Gachha Magar, leader of the Juddha fire brigade.
Gachha said five fire trucks were operated in front of the airport building for three hours to save lives and property. Ideally, at least 30 trucks would be needed to spray water from all directions, he said. “The inferno engulfed several sq kilometres within minutes, menacingly dangerous for a sensitive area like an airport.”
The firemen had to struggle when the place where the blaze began was almost 300 metres from them. The inferno reminded him of an incident in Ramechhap three years ago where 12 people were killed, said Gachha.
Tuesday’s incident has proved again the government is ill-equipped to fight fires. “What is the government waiting for? When will it think about increasing the number of fire trucks and extinguishers,” Reshma Shrestha of Pepsicola wondered in panic.
Panic rules; 3 int’l flights hover for an hour
SANGAM PRASAIN & BINOD GHIMIRE
Tension ran high at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and settlements nearby on Tuesday evening after a fire broke out on the grassland and bushes near the runway.
It took 11 fire brigades around two hours to douse the flames. Police are yet to say how the fire broke out.
Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, the General Manager of the TIA, said the airport authority spotted the fire at 5:35 pm and that it was brought under control at 7:11 pm. The country’s sole international airport was closed at 6:00 pm after an emergency was declared. It reopened at 7:21pm. “After we saw the fire, we immediately sent a fire brigade that failed to douse the flames. Other fire brigades were sent to the site later,” Suman said.
However, police said the fire may have started at 4:45 pm from the eastern side of the airport, which later spread to the south and engulfed an area of five square kilometres. The fire was finally controlled after rigorous efforts from fire fighters, Nepal Police and Nepal Army personnel.
According to DIG Narayan Bastakoti, the chief of the airport police, the fire started near a sentry post of the Nepal Army.
Three international carriers—Fly Dubai, Etihad Airways, and Biman Bangladesh—were told to circle around the skies for around an hour. Two scheduled domestic carriers—Agni Air and Buddha Air—were asked to divert. Suman said the Agni Air and Buddha Air aircraft were arriving from Biratnagar and Simara respectively.
The fire spread as far as the outer fencing of the TIA and near the settlement at the town planning area at Pepsicola. People living in the adjoining areas were panic-stricken as the fire approached their settlements.
“The blaze continued for three full hours and we all panicked,” said Rajendra Deuja, a local at Pepsicola. “Had there been strong winds blowing, the fire would have caught the settlement.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has formed a committee under Lok Bahadur Khatri, the joint-secretary of the ministry, to investigate the incident. The committee has been given three days to submit a detailed report.
Posted on: 2012-02-08 07:53
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