Jharsuguda: The approach road to Jharsuguda airport was in the grip of massive bushfire in Wednesday afternoon triggering panic among the staff and the passengers.
Sources said the bushes on either side of the approach road caught fire. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Eyewitness account that smoke and fire raising around the airport was seen up to four km.
Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and doused the fire effectively. The fire incident could have been averted had the dried up grass and bushes were cleared beforehand, knowledgeable sources said.
The Airport authorities, in a statement said, “A fire was observed beyond the airport boundary adjacent to IOCL AFS in Santhara village. In no time, the fire spread wildly inside Airport boundary. As aviation fueling station (AFS) is a very vulnerable place, fire department was informed by IOCL manager.
City fire services was alerted simultaneously. All three ACFTs of Airport along with two Fire tenders of state worked in tandem to bring the raging fire under control. The fire spread at around 11.30 AM and it took almost an hour to bring it under control.”
As the inferno spread to multiple spaces, Airport Director, Jharsuguda Airport, supervised the firemen and managed the situation, the statement read.
