Nirmala Sitharaman inspects fire mishap spot at Aero India show in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Feb 24: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday inspected at the fire mishap where over 300 cars in the parking lot were destroyed in the parking area of Yelahanka Air Base during the ongoing Aero India show in Bengaluru on Saturday.

The incident happened four days after the fatal mid-air collision at a practice session of Aero India show that claimed the life of Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi.

A huge plume of thick black smoke was seen in the sky near Yelahankha air base. According to a policeman present at the venue, one car suddenly caught fire, which spread uncontrollably and took around 80-100 cars in its blaze, resulting in a huge tower of smoke.

The blaze broke out at Gate 5 of Aero India around 1 pm. It quickly spread due to dry grass on the ground and set vehicles in the adjoining parking lot ablaze. A fuel tank also exploded during the fire.

After the fire broke out, the ongoing air show was stopped. After some time, authorities asked the general public to move back towards the show area.

According to a Principal Spokesperson, Ministry of Defence's tweet, all available fire fighting services, Rapid Action Force and NDRF teams were immediately mobilised.

A day before the start of the 12th edition of Aero India 2019, two aircraft of the Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team crashed during an air show rehearsal. A pilot of one of the two Hawk aircraft was killed, while two other pilots injured during the rehearsals.