KL LCCT evacuated due to fire
Any inside news from the staff? Other than whats been posted by the news websites?
ninemsn.com.au article:
A fire has broken out at a budget airport terminal in Malaysia, forcing the evacuation of all passengers and staff, a senior official with AirAsia says.
"It started 40 minutes ago, there's a lot of smoke. The airport has been evacuated, operations are at a standstill," the official said.
The AirAsia representative said the fire broke out on Friday at a new section of the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), which is currently under construction and due to be opened in the next few months.
"Everybody is standing outside the airport," he said, noting that there had been no fire alarm despite people having to be evacuated.
An eyewitness at the scene, 31-year-old businessman Cham Ze Hoe, said at least two fire engines had arrived at the budget terminal.
He said he joined a large crowd of people standing outside the building when he arrived to catch his flight but was prevented from going inside.
"I was stuck in a bus outside the LCCT and I thought it was a traffic jam ... I got down from the bus and walked towards the terminal," he said.
"I could see smoke coming from the LCCT building. There were hundreds of people standing outside."
The LCCT, which opened in 2006, is located 20km from the capital's main facility, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is used by AirAsia as well as Cebu Pacific and Tiger Airways.
AirAsia on Thursday unveiled plans to shift to its own $US460 million ($A645 million) airport outside Kuala Lumpur and abandon the overcrowded LCCT, which it has rapidly outgrown.
The warehouse-style terminal, built at a cost of $US29.2 million ($A40.9 million), was designed to handle 10 million passengers a year.
Credits due ninemsn.com.au
Last edited by Oz_TB10; 9th Jan 2009 at 05:01.