Airport closed for 3 hours as ATC room catches fire
Posted on: 13/Mar/2013 11:17:53 AM
The Chennai Airport was closed for 3 hours on Tuesday following a fire in the Air Traffic Services complex. The fire is said to have started in a power back-up room that had many batteries stored. The batteries caught fire as well and the entire 3rd floor of the complex was filled with chemical smoke. The officials shut down operations and diverted flights due for landing to airports in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The fire was contained by the fire department personnel but the fog remained.
Officials who spoke to the media said, ‘It was around 2.20 am when some of the controllers said they smelled something burning. But in a building with tonnes of wires, it isn’t uncommon. Attempts were made to douse the flames using fire extinguishers, but we needed help from the fire service. We broke open eight windows to let the smoke out, but it didn’t work. So we got huge exhaust fans and let them run for a few hours.’
