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Entebbe airport jet fuel tanks catch fire

Firefighters attempt to put out the fire. Photo: NTV

Firefighters attempt to put out the fire. Photo: NTV

There were heightened tensions at Entebbe airport when fire broke out at the two jet fuel tank facilities today evening. 

Fred Bamwesige, the acting director-general Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) says the safety, security team and firefighters were dispatched to stop the fire from spreading to other jet fuel tanks.

According to Bamwesige, the extent of what has been damaged and the cause of the fire are yet to be determined. The jet fuel tanks are less than 50 metres from the passenger terminal and at least 60 metres from the airside.

As a result, such an incident can disrupt operations such as the movement of both passengers and aircraft in and out of the airport.

The airport currently has two jet fuel tanks and a hydrant. However, due to safety and security concerns, UCAA has set up four fuel tanks and a hydrant at least a kilometre away from the airside.

The new site for the fuel tanks is near Lake Victoria shores. The tanks can store 10 million litres at ago. Passengers were bemused by the lack of fire warning system at the airport - with authorities instead deploying an ambulance siren to warn people to stay clear. 

Comments

+4 #1 Mike Larry 2021-05-18 22:16
Hahaha. That's how much we have developed. That's how sophisticated out warning systems are.

I can guarantee that the fire was deliberate to hide the fact that the jet fuel was already looted.

I'm sorry but conspiracy theories have taken over our thinking becatof the unabated corruption and impunity.
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+3 #2 Thewatcher 2021-05-18 23:10
"Passengers were bemused by the lack of fire warning system at the airport - with authorities instead deploying an ambulance siren to warn people to stay clear"

Wow!! Anything is possible in uganda.
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+3 #3 WADADA rogers 2021-05-19 00:00
Inside job, somebody wants to cover some illicit transactions to avoid being detected.
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+2 #4 Mbeho Achuc 2021-05-19 03:27
Which Ugandan fool did that????? Could it be an act of idiocy and African stupidity or an accidental incident???!

So an ambulance siren is deployed to warn of a fire at that facility???? Aya ya ya ya!!!!
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0 #5 rubangakene 2021-05-20 20:10
Whose "goose is cooking" now? After all the fanfare of purchasing new jets recently, we have forgotten to maintain the juice cans.

I think that the air industry needs its own ministry rather than stay under Ministry of Works in order to focus on the essentials of air travel,
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