MAJOR FIRE AT DELHI AIR PORT

MAJOR FIRE AT DELHI AIR PORT

A major fire broke out at the cargo terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport here in the early hours of Thursday,5^th January,2012, in which offices of several airlines were gutted. No causalities or damage to the cargo consignment have been reported.The fire broke out at one of the airline offices on the first floor of the import side of the cargo terminal operated by Celebi around 1 a.m. and soon spread to adjoining offices of several international airlines. Initially, the maintenance staff present at the airport tried to douse the flames with the fire-fighting equipment at the cargo complex and the fire brigade and the police were informed after they failed to contain it. It took 28 fire tenders of the Delhi Fire Service Department and six of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) more than four hours to douse the flames.

According to the First Information Report registered under Section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance) at the IGI police station, the fire took place between pillar no. A-53 and A-63 on the cargo terminal and the cargo offices of several airlines including Thai, Aeroflot, Gulf Air, Air Philippines, Air Arabia, Royal Jordanian and Air India were gutted. The office of Celebi, the ground handling services company which manages cargo operations at IGI airport, was also affected.The police said the cause of the fire was not immediately known, but it could have been caused by a short-circuit. The export operations at the airport were suspended for more than 30 minutes as a precautionary measure following the fire and were later resumed.

According to the DIAL, no cargo consignment was affected in any way as the area where the fire took place only comprises airline offices and the damaged seemed to be limited to office equipment and the furniture. “We are yet to ascertain the damage. It could be known only after airlines file their claims,” said a DIAL official on the estimated loss caused by the fire. The DIAL, in an official statement, conceded that the incident could lead to delay in processing of import cargo as the Customs offices concerned are located near the area affected by the fire. “As of now, the affected area has been declared out of bounds by the Delhi Fire Service which will inspect the building and later hand it over for operations. Detailed investigation will be conducted into the incident,” the statement said.Delhi Fire Chief A. K. Sharma said: “The airport authorities had NOC for the cargo terminal earlier, but I am not sure whether they have it now. Also, the fire equipment at the terminal was not properly maintained. We are mulling action against the authorities concerned in this connection.”

                                                                  Prof. John Kurakar