At least 300 vehicles were destroyed in a massive fire at a parking lot near the Aero India venue in Bengaluru’s Yelahanka Air Force Station on Saturday.
Officials, according to reports, suspect a stray cigarette butt to have started the flame which eventually spread to the dry grass and then to the vehicles parked in there.
No casualties have been reported so far.
10 Fire Force and five other fire engines were rushed to the spot under the leadership of Chief Fire Officer, West, senior police officer MN Reddi tweeted, adding that the fire has been completely extinguished.
Huge plumes of thick black smoke could be seen in the sky near the Yelahanka air base.
Fire Accident in BANGALORE Aero India show car parking morethen 200 cars burned. pic.twitter.com/JChWjjGqHv
— SUHEL BASHA (@SUHELSHAHKING) February 23, 2019
The Aero India 2019 began on a disastrous note on Wednesday after two Surya Kiran aircraft of the acrobatic team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) collided mid-air at Yelhanka Air Force Base a day before the show, killing a pilot.
Read | One pilot killed in mid-air collision between two Surya Kiran aircraft
The aircraft, part of the 52nd Squadron of the IAF, was rehearsing for the acrobatic display for Aero India when they collided into each other.
This is the second crash involving IAF aircraft in Bengaluru in less than a month.
On 1 February, two pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost their lives when their Mirage-2000 fighter jet crashed on the runway of the Yemalur-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility.
The five-day Aero Show started on Wednesday and will conclude tomorrow.