Mumbai, Feb. 8 :
Mumbai, Feb. 8:
A fire blazed through the domestic terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here today, gutting the building and sending passengers into panic.
More than 100 firemen battled the blaze for over four hours to bring it under control. No injuries were reported.
Airport officials said the blaze had not hit air services in any way. Almost all aircraft took off and touched down on schedule in the country's busiest airport.
Fire brigade officials suspect a short circuit caused the blaze. Police said though they did not suspect any foul play, they were investigating the fire, the fiercest in the airport in a decade.
The fire broke out around 1.30 pm in Terminal No.1B of the airport in Santacruz that houses the engineering division of Jet Airways.
By the time firemen arrived, it had spread to the first floor, housing the pay and account office of the airport authorities, fire brigade sources said.
As smoke billowed from the gutted building, passengers and airport staff panicked and ran around adding to the confusion. Those waiting in the lobby scrambled out. An airport security officer said the passengers had no idea about what had actually happened and some of them had presumed that there was a terrorist attack.
'We are lucky nobody got hurt in the chaos,' the officer said.
The police threw a security cordon around the building in flame and sealed the area. Thirty fire engines were pressed into operation.
Deputy commissioner of police (airport) Sanjay Barve said the extent of the damage was not yet known but a large number of official records were destroyed.