Kolkata: A fire broke out near a departure gate of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Wednesday night, officials said. Firefighting arrangements were pressed into service to douse the blaze as panic-stricken passengers were moved to a safe place, they said. No casualty was reported.
The entire area inside the airport was engulfed with thick black smoke after the fire broke out at 3C departure gate at around 9 pm. Since there was a rush of passengers, airport authorities took no chance and used their firefighters to dose it. At the moment, it is under control and the cooling process is being done, a police officer said. Officials said after an initial investigation that short circuit could be the reason for the fire.
Following the fire, a number of aircraft that were scheduled to depart have been kept on hold. Although the situation is under control now, the passing of the passengers through the security counters will be allowed only after the airport authorities are sure that there is no further threat of fire. Although the airport authorities have not officially announced the reason behind the fire, sources said that in all probability, the fire broke out due to short- circuit.
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