Aero India 2019: Huge plumes of black smoke could be seen in the sky near the Yelahanka air base Highlights Nearly 300 vehicles were destroyed in a major fire in Bengaluru. Officials said the cause of the fire could be a cigarette. Huge plumes of thick black smoke could be seen in the sky. Nearly 300 vehicles were destroyed in a major fire that broke out this afternoon in the parking area of the Yelahanka Air Force station in Bengaluru, where the 12th edition of Aero India is underway. No casualties were reported. 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. Senior police officer MN Reddi said the fire spread rapidly due to dry grass and strong winds. Hundreds of vehicles, including two-wheelers and cars, were seen parked in files in the open ground, surrounded by fire. The Karnataka fire department tweeted a video of the blaze that rapidly spread in the parking area. The massive fire caused panic among locals and visitors on the fourth day of Aero India. The mega show was suspended briefly because of the fire. Officials said the cause of the fire could be a lit cigarette that was disposed on the grass in the open field. On Tuesday, a day before the opening of the Aero India show, two aircraft of the IAF''s aerobatic team Surya Kiran had crashed, after grazing each other mid-air, near here. A pilot was killed and two others were injured in the accident. Aero India 2019: The fire in the parking area caused panic among the visitors. Thousands of visitors are expected are attending the five-day biennial event which started on Wednesday and will conclude tomorrow. Badminton star PV Sindhu took a flight in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas at air show earlier today. On Thursday, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had flown the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH).<doc-sep>Aero India 2019: 300 cars gutted as fire breaks out in parking lot Police sources present at the spot have told TNM that a grass fire spread to parking area number 5 of the venue. news Aero India 2019 A huge plume of smoke was seen at the Yelahankha air base, which is the venue for the Aero India 2019 air show being held in Bengaluru, on Saturday morning. Police sources present at the spot have told TNM that a grass fire spread to parking area number 5 and some vehicles which were parked there have also caught fire. Around 300 cars have been gutted in the fire and the fire has been doused. "In all, 300 cars have been burnt in the incident. The fire has been fully extinguished now. 10 fire force teams and 5 fire engines fought the fire under the leadership of Chief Fire Officer, West," MN Reddi, Karnataka DGP said. Fire under control. No life loss reported pic.twitter.com/rMmLMoktJs â€” Karnataka Fire Dept (@KarFireDept) February 23, 2019 An eyewitness, Rahil, told TNM that he heard a blast and realised that a fire had broken out. â€śThere were cars blasting one after the another, I could hear crackling sounds. The cars were closely parked so the fire spread within seconds... there were glass shards everywhere, tyres were blasting. I was scared so I ran out and I saw one fire engine come inside,â€ť Rahil said. He added that the fire had broken out at the far end of the parking lot and the firefighters began their operations immediately and the fire could be controlled to just that area. One fire-fighter from Channapatna fire station sustained minor injuries during firefighting operations. Rakesh was one of the firefighters deployed at the Aero India venue as part of the security cover and was one of the few people to first reach the spot. While he was trying to douse the fire, he received minor injuries due to glass shards from one of the damaged cars. He has received treatment and has returned to carry out firefighting operations. 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. It is not known yet how many vehicles are ablaze. The parking spot is located around a few kilometres away from where the air show is being held. When the smoke was first spotted, many thought it was garbage being burnt but the amount of smoke later indicated a bigger fire. There has been no disruption to the Aero India show due to the smoke. Saturday is the fourth day of the Aero India 2019 air show which began on February 20. A press release issued by the Ministry of Defence states that a court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the fire. This incident comes days after the mishap involving the two aircraft of the Indian Air Forceâ€™s Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team, which killed one pilot, Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi, who flew as Surya Kiran 7.<doc-sep>'Fire spread in minutes, caused mini explosions:' Eyewitnesses recount Aero India 2019 fire 19-year-old college student Abhishek Gowda says he was one of the few people who first saw the plumes of smoke near the parking lot. news Aero India 2019 It was around 1pm on Saturday. The afternoon sun was scorching and Abhishek S Gowda, a 19-year-old college student, was volunteering for Aero India and saw plumes of smoke near the parking lot. Abhishek says he was a part of the Bookmyshow team, who had set up their tent in parking lot number 5 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. When Abhishek informed his superiors that there could be a fire, they initially thought it was probably just grass burning. "My friend Ashwin and I ran to the spot where the fire broke out. We saw that the car parked at the end of the parking lot on the first row was on fire. Then there was an explosion and the fire just spread within seconds," Abhishek told TNM. Overcoming panic and fear, Abhishek realised that there were several drivers, who were asleep in cars nearby. He says he and his friend began banging and knocking on their car windows and alerting them to get out immediately. "There were some 10 to 15 drivers who were asleep inside the cars. The fire was spreading quickly and they had to get out. I was in Boy Scouts, what was the use of my training if I didn't help? So my friend and I went and got them out and moved them away from the line of fire so that they would not be gutted," Abhishek added. The fire fighting squad then reached the spot and asked the men to move away as the smoke could be suffocating. "The car tyres are blowing up. What are you doing here? Go away. Do you have a car? Take it and go," a firefighter, identified as Rakesh, began yelling at people who began gathering around the area of the fire. â€śAfter the firefighters arrived, my friend and I got back to work. I am just happy that no one was injured," Abhishek said. The firefighters arrived at the parking lot within minutes of the smoke being detected and in 20 minutes the flames were doused. According to the Fire Department, around 300 cars have been gutted in the fire. â€śThere were cars blasting one after the another, I could hear crackling sounds. The cars were closely parked so the fire spread within seconds... there were glass shards everywhere, tyres were blasting. I was scared so I ran out and I saw one fire engine come inside,â€ť another eyewitness, Rahil told TNM. He added that the fire had broken out at the far end of the parking lot and the firefighters began their operations immediately and the fire could be controlled to just that area. Speaking to TNM, Rakesh, who was deployed for duty at Aero India, said that the fire engine which he was in was the first to arrive at the spot. Rakesh sustained deep wounds on his left arm after shards of glass scraped against his arm when the blasts occurred at the parking lot. Rakesh was being administered aid when he spoke to TNM. "These are not major injuries. I am okay. I am with the Channapattana Fire Station and was deployed for Aero India duty. I am just getting my wound dressed so I can get back to work. We cannot say what the cause of the fire is yet. Although there is a suspicion that it could be a cigarette butt, we can only be sure once the investigation is complete. It could also have been some issue with the car itself," Rakesh added. Minutes after obtaining treatment, firefighter Rakesh was seen running towards the fire engine and was back to work.<doc-sep>
Aero India 2019: Huge plumes of thick black smoke could be seen in the sky near the Yelahanka air base. Highlights The fire which started at 11:55 am has been brought under control Police said the fire spread rapidly due to dry grass and strong winds No planes took off from the airbase till the fire was completely doused Nearly 300 vehicles have been destroyed in a big fire at the parking lot of the venue of the air show in Bengaluru this afternoon. 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. Senior police officer MN Reddi said the fire spread rapidly due to dry grass and strong winds. Hundreds of vehicles, including two-wheelers and cars, were seen parked in files in the open ground, surrounded by fire. The fire, which started at 11:55 am, has been brought under control and no injuries have been reported. "Fire in the open field parking lot of aero show. Nearly 20 cars burnt. Fire fighting operations by Chief Fire Officer and 10 water tenders staff under way (sic)," Mr Reddi tweeted. The fire spread rapidly due to dry grass and strong winds A Defence Ministry statement said the parking area is located well away from the venue, on the other side of the highway. "IAF immediately launched one helicopter for aerial assessment, the helicopter assisted by providing effective directions to fight the fire. The fire was brought under control by deploying more than 12 fire fighting vehicles," the statement said. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of fire, the Defence Ministry added. The air show was temporarily suspended once the fire spread and no planes took off from the airbase till the fire was completely doused. Today's incident comes less than a week after two jets of the Indian Air Force's Suryakiran Aerobatic Team crashed after a mid-air collision over the air base. One of the three pilots in the crash had died. The five-day air show started on Wednesday and will conclude tomorrow.