Fire At Istanbul Airport

A large fire appears to be under control at the Istanbul airport. The blaze caused heavy damage in a freight area. Tanker aircraft were needed to drop water on the blaze. Reports on how the fire started are conflicting and rather spotty at the moment.

Authorities gave various explanations for what caused the blaze, which billowed black smoke 100 feet into the air at Turkey's busiest airport before it was brought under control.

Kasapoglu said a short-circuit was to blame, while another deputy governor, Vedat Muftuoglu, told CNN-Turk television at the scene that a spark from a welder's torch caused the fire.

Muftuoglu said there was no sign the blaze was terrorism-related.

Kasapoglu assured passengers that there was no danger and flights were taking place, although with delays.

Private NTV television said the fire began in a section where fuel depots were located.

Planes dropped water onto the flames, and airport authorities said the fire was being tamed. A firefighter atop a tall ladder poured a stream of water on the blaze.

"The fire is under control and we're taking precautions to prevent it from spreading to passenger terminals," said Baris Tozar, the undersecretary of the Transportation Ministry.

There is one fascinating factoid to take away from all this though. There is a news service in Turkey called "Sky Turk". Which would be a fabulous name for a cartoon superhero.

UPDATE: CNN coverage. From the description of what was in the building, it's lucky this wasn't more of a disaster. But why were there explosives in an air freight building?