No fewer than four flights were diverted out of Lagos on Monday as serious fire outbreak engulfed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Old Terminal.
Also,
at least six persons were seriously injured and taken to a hospital as a result
of the incident, which started at the server room of the airport.
Speaking
on the incident, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority
of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Olubunmi Kuku, said that the collaborative efforts of
other sister agencies helped to contain spread of the fire, which began at few
minutes past 3pm.
She
also said that 12 Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) who were trapped as a result
of the fire incident were later rescued.
According to her, some of the diverted flights included British Airways,
Lufthansa and Emirates.
The flights were diverted to Abuja and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.
She
furry expressed that the fire incident started from the ground floor of the
airport, but said the cause of the outbreak was unknown as of the time of the
briefing.
She
explained that FAAN had activated the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and
assured that the inferno would finally be put out in the next few hours, while
flight services would resume immediately.
She said: “But I think what is critical is to make sure that the fire itself is
controlled. Of course, investigations are ongoing. We were able to activate our
emergency operating procedures and get everybody out of the building with no
fatality due to all of the coordination done by sister agencies.
” In terms of all of the agencies that are coordinating, we do have standard
procedures for all the agencies that are involved. And it differs by state, so
that we get support from the states as well.
“British
Airways was diverted to Abuja while Lufthansa to Malabo and, of course,
Emirates flight. However, for travelling passengers, please note that in the
next half an hour, our operations will be back up and running. So it’s okay to
come into the airport if you have flight operations in the next couple of hours
or in the next couple of days.”
However,
it was learnt that the fire outbreak was caused by electrical faults from the
server room before it escalated to other parts of the terminal.
The fire was contained by the firefighters from FAAN with assistance from the
Lagos State Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Police.
The
source said: “Our findings show that the fire was caused by an electrical fault
from the server room at the terminal. As you are aware, work is ongoing at the
terminal, but I believe FAAN will critically investigate the fire incident.
“So
far, we have been able to contain it through the assistance of other sister
agencies like the Lagos State fire service, FRSC, NSCDC, police and
others. However, the incident will not affect the ongoing work at the
terminal.”
Earlier,
FAAN in a statement by its Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection,
Henry Agbebire, confirmed the incident.
The
Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in August approved the sum of N712 billion
for the full rehabilitation, upgrade, and modernisation of the terminal.
The
project, awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC),
is expected to strip the old terminal down to its structural core before
rebuilding it with new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.
The
project, funded entirely through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development
Fund, is expected to be executed over a period of 22 months.
The
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, had
said: “We have decided to strip it down to only the carcass and then do the
complete M&E again.”
He
emphasised the administration’s departure from patchwork repairs towards
comprehensive overhaul of key aviation facilities.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment