Oil spill on Goa runway as tanker turns turtle, operations hit

Panaji: A tanker carrying 6000 litres of highly inflammable aviation turbine fuel turned turtle on the Goa airport runway, forcing its partial closure and affecting operations.
The runway was shutdown for two and half hours last night after the Indian Oil Corporation's tanker toppled on the runway at 2120 hrs spilling the fuel. "The tanker was heading towards civil terminal to refuel the parked aircraft," an Indian Navy spokesperson.
Goa airport is managed by Indian Navy, which operates its INS Hansa base from Panaji.
Naval personnel evacuated the tanker driver to safety and took steps to prevent the leaking fuel from catching fire.
The runway was closed immediately. The tanker was lifted with the help of a naval crane and the fuel was removed from the runway surface, officials said.
The runway is operational now, however with a reduced length, sources said adding, "we are using only 5,700 ft of the 8,000 ft runway".
24/10/10 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: airports Oct 2010