Airport clean-up sparks inferno

Dibrugarh: A massive fire feeding on dry bushes raged at Lilabari airport today, damaging a police camp and nearby villages in Lakhimpur district. There was no report of any casualty.
The airport, 10km from Kimin in Arunachal Pradesh that shares its border with China, is important for its strategic location. Villagers alleged the airport authorities had set dry bushes on fire along the runway to clear the area.
“Strong winds blowing since last evening helped the fire to spread and engulf several parts of the airport campus around noon before the panic-stricken airport authorities called in the fire brigade,” a source said.
The fire damaged portions of the camp of the 13 Assam Police Battalion adjacent to the airport and spread to some nearby villages.
Lilabari civil airport, under the Airports Authority of India (AAI), is nearly 6km from Lakhimpur town. Besides providing air connectivity to the people of the two north bank districts of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji, the airport also serves Arunachal Pradesh.
Airport sources said the authorities had ordered clearing of dry bushes — a routine procedure— as it is mandatory to keep the runway and its adjacent areas clean.
19/02/10 The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Feb 2010