LAHORE: A fire break out inside Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport at the immigration counters on Thursday morning, completely destroying the system and effected the flight operations.
Rescue teams promptly responded to the scene, and were able to contain the situation without any reported loss of life.
According to a preliminary investigation, the fire at the immigration counters was caused by a short circuit and spread rapidly to a large portion of the airport. It caused a stampede among passengers, while the entire airport was evacuated, authorities said.
After that incident, the first Hajj flight scheduled to depart from Lahore was halted, while seven other international flights were also delayed due to the flight. The authorities said the immigration process of the Hajj pilgrims was resumed from the domestic counter.
Air operations from Karachi to Lahore have also been affected by the fire, while only the domestic side was being used for Hajj flights. All the flights between Karachi and Lahore are facing delays, which include all airlines.
At least six international flights of local and foreign airlines, including PIA and outbound from Lahore, were delayed because of the fire.
The first Hajj flight of PIA was set to depart from the Lahore airport this morning at 8:30am. Intending pilgrims and other passengers were immediately evacuated to safer areas as a precautionary measure. Among the evacuees, a woman and a child fell ill due to the smoke and were shifted to a hospital.
The Hajj passengers, who had boarded, were called back to the airport lounge.
All the international flights inbound to Lahore were redirected to alternate airports across the country. A Sri Lankan Airlines flight bound for Lahore was diverted back mid-air.
Two flights en route from Dubai to Lahore were diverted to Islamabad, while four others from Dubai, Jeddah, and Doha landed at the Lahore Airport. The authorities were clearing passengers through manual immigration.
On the other hand, the CAA spokesperson said situation at the airport was gradually getting back to normal as all the agencies present on the airport were making efforts in this regard.
The Civil Aviation Authority officials was formed to investigate the reasons for the fire that broke out in the ceiling of the immigration counter. The reasons for the fire were being ascertained under the supervision of the airport manager, while the cooling process had been initiated.
The initial report of the incident has been submitted to Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif. Two top civil aviation officials have been ordered to reach Lahore airport immediately.
