Major Blaze at Istanbul Airport, page 1

posted on May, 24 2006 @ 08:39 AM

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In the wake of an unfortunate mid-air collision yesterday between Greek and Turkish warplanes, a huge fire has broken out today at Istanbul Airport in Turkey, near a building used as a hangar for military aircraft. The fire began in a fuel depot, and the cause is unknown and under investigation.

www.comcast.net
A huge fire engulfed the cargo section of Istanbul's Ataturk International airport on Wednesday, blocking air traffic and causing hundreds of panicked people to flee, television reports said.

Authorities evacuated thousands of people from nearby terminals and moved away parked cargo planes as black smoke, mixed with flames, billowed 100 feet into the air.

A firefighter atop a tall ladder poured a stream of water on the fire, and a plane flew overhead, dropping a payload onto the flames _ apparently fire retardant chemicals. But the flames rose above the building.

The cause of the fire was not known. Cihan News Agency said a short-circuit may have caused the fire and private NTV television said the fire began in a section where fuel depots were located.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Could this be related to the mid-air collision yesterday?

The Greeks cannot be happy about the incursions into their airspace and the loss of one of their pilots.

Could they mount a response by other than diplomatic means so quickly? Would they resort to such a tactic?

Most importantly, will the Turks try to pin this blaze on a Greek response to yesterday's incident, and retaliate?

If so, hostilities could escalate quickly from here.

shots

posted on May, 24 2006 @ 09:37 AM

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Most importantly, will the Turks try to pin this blaze on a Greek response to yesterday's incident, and retaliate?

The answer to that is No. They apparently are already stating this was nothing more then a short ciruit within the wiring at the cargo hanger.

The fire is now under control and airport operations are almost back to normal

Icarus Rising

posted on May, 24 2006 @ 11:43 AM

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The fire is now under control, but there are conflicting statements as to what caused it.

Deputy Gov. Fikret Kasapoglu said a short-circuit was to blame, while another deputy governor, Vedat Muftuoglu, told CNN-Turk television at the scene that a spark from a welder's torch caused the fire.

Muftuoglu said there was no sign the blaze was terrorism-related.

The two-story cargo building, located near a hangar housing military aircraft, is used to store international freight arriving in Istanbul. Gov. Muammer Guler of Istanbul said parts of the building collapsed and there was "great financial damage."

They were quick to rule out terrorism as a cause. I'm glad to see that, at least publicly, there is no finger pointing at Greece going on.