Thousands rejoice and panic while hundreds of people literally cry in disbelief...
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| image source: ibtimes.co.in |
At the sprawling airfield of Yelahanka Air Force Base people had gathered in thousands making use of the public entry option today and were literally in an aerial world of their own when the metal birds displayed their mite in all possible varieties.Well as these holiday visitors rejoiced struck a tragedy just a couple of kilometers away from the hub of air activity.
As black smoke started emitting and developing into unheard proportions the crowd which was till then enjoying the Aero Show suddenly developed panic signs and started moving away from the venue towards the exit gates.
For a moment even the organizers were taken aback at the man made tragedy resulting into the gutting of more than 300 cars in the parking gate number 5 lot.As the dark fumes continued to multiply in no time and much before the fire tenders could be rushed to the spot around 300 cars were gutted.
As black smoke started emitting and developing into unheard proportions the crowd which was till then enjoying the Aero Show suddenly developed panic signs and started moving away from the venue towards the exit gates.
For a moment even the organizers were taken aback at the man made tragedy resulting into the gutting of more than 300 cars in the parking gate number 5 lot.As the dark fumes continued to multiply in no time and much before the fire tenders could be rushed to the spot around 300 cars were gutted.
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| image source: starofmysore.com |
Just a few minutes before the parking lot looked like a display area of all possible modern and high end cars and in no time it was reduced to a graveyard of the four wheeler skeletons.It was a pathetic sight to watch and a matter of heart burn when most of the car owners were found weeping like children before their most loved vehicles.
Interestingly all those who lost their cars in the parking gate number 5 had parked them for free as a incentive for buying the Rs 1,800/- entry tickets and most of them are said to be exhibitors who had booked the stalls for showcasing their products.
The only sigh of relief for the organizers was the hardcore fact that there were no human casualties nor anyone hurt in the fiasco in spite of vehicular losses estimated to around 53 crores as per preliminary estimates.
The Air Force has ordered for a court of inquiry into the incident and resumed the air show related displays for the afternoon session without any hindrance as an after effect of the fire mishap.
Many reasons are being attributed for the tragedy and the official version of MN Reddi,DGP and Chief of Fire Force is:The dry grass caught fire and spread like wildfire aided by heavy breeze.
But eyewitnesses have altogether a different story to tell.The small fire first spread to a i 20 car,thanks to negligible coolant in it got engulfed by fire waves.In no time it spread all over as a couple of adjoining vehicles caught fire due to blast of CNG cylinders.
It was only a beginning and much before the 10 fire tenders and five engines were engaged to douse the fire almost 300 vehicles were gutted.
Badriprasad,a resident of Dubai lamented:I have lost both,my Indian and Dubai driving license apart from my passport and other valuable documents relating to my properties.
Some of them were desperately trying to search for their house keys in the nearly melted vehicles.The sight of women and children screaming before their burnt cars was inconsolable.
Thanks to the curiosity of many a driver who were far away from their vehicles to have a glimpse of the flying metal birds they could save their lives.
Abhishek Gowda,a volunteer went out of the way to bang at the cars in which drivers had dozed off switching on the air conditioner.The act of the Samaritan never went waste as around 19 drivers were able to save their lives.
Likewise a not so lucky car owner who had rushed back to look for his car had a shock on seeing it being burnt before his eyes.But he never got immersed in his thoughts and swiftly swung into action.
He with the help of others broke opened the window panes of the driver's seat and struggled to tow them to safety from being engulfed by the fast spreading fire.In this way they could save about 15 cars from the brunt of fire.
At the same time there were also miscreants who found a golden opportunity to snatch whatever valuables they could manage!
-Manohar Yadavatti
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