Two killed in fire drill accident at IGI

Two firemen were killed and three others injured when a fire tender they were using for a drill veered off the path at the new runway and fell into a drain at the IGI airport here.

The incident happened last night when Ashok Chandra Verma, senior coodinator, driver Niresh Yadav and three other firemen were testing the ultra-modern fire-fighting vehicle (Rosenbauer — RB7), airport sources said today.

The vehicle veered of the runway near Zullu taxiway and overturned into a storm-water drain that runs parallel to the new runway.

The bodies have been sent to Safdarjung Hospital for post-mortem, while the injured were taken to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in Vasant Kunj.

Two of the three firemen were released after treatment, but the condition of one is said to be serious, they added.

The test was being carried out on new runway (29/11) as there is no traffic after 10 pm, they said.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation has banned landings and take-offs of aircraft from the new runway as it caused inconvenience to the residents living in the vicinity.