Entebbe Airport fire engulfs fuel tankers

Reports from usually reliable sources within the aviation industry and the Civil Aviation Authority came in late morning last Saturday that two fuel trucks apparently burst into flames when approachin

Reports from usually reliable sources within the aviation industry and the Civil Aviation Authority came in late morning last Saturday that two fuel trucks apparently burst into flames when approaching the airport fuel discharge docking station, where the tankers from Kenya normally offload their cargo. JetA1 fuel is carried by road from Kenya in the absence of a longer pipeline and often sees the trailer trucks involved in accidents, yet never before at the airport itself. It could be ascertained that one truck, while carelessly reversing, hit another starting the blaze.

While obviously nothing can be formally ruled in or out until investigations are completed and a final accident report has been filed, it is most unlikely that this incident was anything other than an accident, putting prompt rumors and speculation to immediate rest.

Sections of the airport were evacuated to the fire assembly points in the parking areas distant from the fire or to nearby buildings as a precaution, although the fire was apparently contained at the scene of the outbreak and the swift reaction by the Entebbe Airport Fire Brigade and the Entebbe Municipal Fire Brigade helped to avoid a spreading of the fire to other areas or to the main fuel reservoir and pumping installations.

The accident and resulting fire did not have any significant impact on air traffic to and from Entebbe, although the loss of aviation fuel may be felt a little until replacement shipments have been delivered at the airport. Some inbound flights were, according to other sources, held at the departure point until the situation had been clarified and the Entebbe station managers given the all clear, resulting in minor delays of inbound flights.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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