Chennai: Delay in dousing a fire in a truck at the international terminal in Chennai airport on Tuesday early morning sent shockwaves among 130 passengers who were on board an Air India Express flight bound for Trichy.
Recalling the terrifying episode, Ramnath Chandrasekar, one of the passengers from Chennai, told TOI that he boarded the flight around 1.15am. Soon after the boarding was completed, a truck on the right side of the aircraft caught fire. Apart from the Air India express plane, there were around five aircraft within a radius of 100 metres from the fire spot, he said. With small extinguishers, the ground crew tried to put off the fire in vain. By then, the scarred passengers in the aircraft asked the cabin crew to request the pilot to move the plane.
" 'We realize the urgency sir. We are in the plane too. Don't worry nothing will happen', was the reply from a member of the cabin crew," Chandrasekar told TOI. A fire engine took nearly 10 minutes to reach the spot. "This is a lot of time to attend a fire accident," Chandrasekar said. During the entire time, none of the aircraft in the vicinity were towed away to safety. The way the accident was handled is a recipe for disaster, Chandrasekar said.
12/11/15 P Oppili/The Times Of India
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Recalling the terrifying episode, Ramnath Chandrasekar, one of the passengers from Chennai, told TOI that he boarded the flight around 1.15am. Soon after the boarding was completed, a truck on the right side of the aircraft caught fire. Apart from the Air India express plane, there were around five aircraft within a radius of 100 metres from the fire spot, he said. With small extinguishers, the ground crew tried to put off the fire in vain. By then, the scarred passengers in the aircraft asked the cabin crew to request the pilot to move the plane.
" 'We realize the urgency sir. We are in the plane too. Don't worry nothing will happen', was the reply from a member of the cabin crew," Chandrasekar told TOI. A fire engine took nearly 10 minutes to reach the spot. "This is a lot of time to attend a fire accident," Chandrasekar said. During the entire time, none of the aircraft in the vicinity were towed away to safety. The way the accident was handled is a recipe for disaster, Chandrasekar said.
12/11/15 P Oppili/The Times Of India
