Nearly 300 cars were gutted in a fire that broke in a parking lot at the venue of the 2019 Aero India show being conducted by the defence ministry at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru.
"The blaze is likely to have been caused due to dry grass catching fire aided by high-velocity winds," Director General of Police for Fire and Emergency Services M.N. Reddi told IANS.
The fire, which began at around 12 noon, quickly burnt down the vehicles parked by visitors and public attending the show at the Indian Air Force base in the northern outskirts of the city.
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Thick black smoke was billowing in the sky soon after the air display of aircraft which began at 10 a.m. came to end.
The fire personnel controlled the blaze by creating a gap by removing adjacent cars, Reddi said.
"In all, 300 cars were burnt. Fire is fully extinguished now," Reddi said in a tweet later.
The exact reason for the fire, however, could not be ascertained from the officials so far.
Ten 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire.
The aerial display of aircraft in the afternoon, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. continued according to schedule.
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The 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 during rehearsal. One of the three pilots in the crash had died in the crash.
(With inputs from agencies)
