Goa Airport in India was shut down on Saturday as firefighters tackled a blaze which started after an Indian Navy MiG-29K fighter jet dropped its fuel tank while taking off.

A portion of the runway caught fire during the incident which took place at around 2pm local time.

According to a spokesperson for the airport, which is used for both civilian and military aircraft, Indian Navy personnel were quickly dispatched to the scene, “cleaning the fuel from the runway and carrying out repair along the stretch.”

Flash. #GoaAirport closed temporarily for a few hours view incident of fire caused by a drop tank of MiG 29K which got detached whilst taking off. All efforts in hand to resume flights ASAP. MiG 29K fighter ac is safe. @aaigoaairport@AAI_Officialpic.twitter.com/5iDRT8r6BX — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) June 8, 2019

“These are external fuel tanks outfitted to aircraft in order to enable them to cover more distance. One such tank attached to a MiG-29K got jettisoned off the jet during a sortie and landed on the runway,” the spokesperson stated.

The Navy published photos of the black fumes rising from the blaze on the runway. A spokesperson added that flights have now resumed.

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