Grass near Mumbai airport runway catches fire

MUMBAI: A patch of grass near the main runway caught fire at the Mumbai airport but was quickly doused by the airport fire service personnel.
The incident took place around 2 pm when 'bird scarers' were bursting crackers to chase away birds that pose problems in flight operations.
A Mumbai International Airport Limited spokesperson confirmed the incident and said that operations remain unaffected.
"It was a small grass fire on the airside, which has been put off. The operations at the airport remain normal," Mumbai Airport spokesperson told PTI here.
Sources, however, say the fire was caused due to the fire crackers burst.
"Fire crackers are burst to scare birds. During one such exercise today, a patch of grass near the end of main runway 09x27 caught fire at around 2 pm. Two fire tenders were rushed and the fire was put off soon," airport sources said.
Birds pose a serious problem at the Mumbai airport. The airport authorities have employed over 40 bird scarers to keep them away from the runway. These personnel burst crackers at regular intervals to scare away the birds so that they do not disrupt the flights movement.