Goa Airport: Flight ops canceled as fuel spill from MiG-29K tank causes fire

Panaji: All flight operations at Goa's Dabolim International Airport gets suspended as a massive fire broke out after a drop tank of a MiG-29K aircraft fell down from a naval fighter aircraft, spilling fuel on the runway, as per an AAI spokesperson.

The detachable fuel tank fell off the jet while it was taking off, setting a portion of the main runway on fire, inflicting minor damages to the landing and take-off strip, said Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma.

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"Due to jettisoned fuel tank on the runway during MiG sortie the operations are closed for two hours at Goa airport. Pl bear with us," Airport Authority of India (AAI) Goa wrote on its official Twitter handle on Saturday afternoon.

However, Airport operations are likely to commence at around 4 pm. According to a spokesperson for the airport, Indian Navy personnel were at the site, cleaning the fuel from the runway and carrying out repair along the stretch.

"These are external fuel tanks outfitted to aircraft in order to enable them to cover more distance. One such tank attached to a MiG-29K got jettisoned off the jet during a sortie and landed on the runway," the spokesperson told media.

The sole international airport in Goa is located in Dabolim and is operated from Indian naval base INS Hansa located in the South Goa district.

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(PTI)