Scenes of drama unfolded this morning at Nanjing Lukou International Airport, when a fire broke out inside the terminal, causing clouds of thick dark smoke to rise and engulf the terminal ceiling. Ironically, the fire is thought to have started in a smoking room.
It was at 08:59 today when the fire broke out. Airport authorities were alerted by a smoke alarm sounding in the airport’s control centre. The fire had originated within the departure hall of the recently reopened Terminal 1 (T1).
Source of the blaze appears to be a smoking room adjacent to Gate 124.
Nanjing’s fire authorities have released a notice stating that an ashtray was found smoking at the scene. According to preliminary understandings, a passenger threw an unextinguished cigarette butt into an ashtray, causing the fire to break out, reports The Paper.
A YouTube user named TonyCN was among those who captured the unfolding drama with his smartphone. Within a few hours, he had already produced and posted his own news report. Therein can be seen Nanjing firefighters tackling the fire.
The Yangtze Evening News, on the other hand, makes no mention of the cause being cigarette related. That publication has stated that airport staff said there was no open fire.
Today’s departing flights were unaffected by the incident and no casualties have been reported at this time. Notable though, is that while gulfs of smoke enveloped the terminal building, there was little, if any, sign of panic among awaiting passengers.
While it seems to be little doubt that a careless passenger was to blame, today’s incident nevertheless leaves a blotch on the spotlessly-clean record of the new T1.
The highly-automated, state-of-the-art new terminal was closed for 6 years to allow for renovation. Designed to speed up passenger flow, the all-new T1 was opened last year on 29 July.
