Massive fire near Bengaluru air show, around 100 vehicles burnt

February 23: In a major incident of fire, as many as 100 cars were gutted in a fire that broke out in a parking lot at the venue of the 2019 Aero India show being conducted by the Defence Ministry at the Yelahanka air base. There were, however, no report of casualties till the writing of this report.

The billowing smoke was spotted at the end of the morning aerobatics display on Saturday and caused mild panic. Earlier on Tuesday, just a day before the commencement of the show, two aircrafts of IAF’s aerobatic team Surya Kiran crashed after hitting each other mid-air on Tuesday, killing a pilot and injuring two who ejected to safety during a rehearsal for the Aero India show.

Officials say the cause of the fire could be a lit cigarette that was disposed on the grass in the open field. Huge plumes of thick black smoke could be seen in the sky near the Yelahanka air base in north Bengaluru, where about a hundred aircraft are parked for the biennial Aero India 2019 event. The five-day air show started on Wednesday and will conclude tomorrow.

The cause of the fire is not yet known but sources say it could have been a lit cigarette that was thrown into the grass which may have started the fire. The cars in the parking lot belonged to the people who had come to see the aero show. As many as 10 fire tenders were dispatched and they managed to bring the blaze under control quickly by creating gaps between cars by removing adjacent cars. But by that time, nearly 100 vehicles were burnt in the fire.