The Indian Air Force (IAF), through its ‘Bambi Bucket’ operation helped in containing a major fire which broke out in a rubber godown in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area, an official statement said on Wednesday.

Cooling operations were underway at the factory till Wednesday afternoon. A dense plume of smoke billowed from a truck and a godown in Khirki Extension area on Tuesday evening, causing panic among locals. The Delhi police has arrested Sanjay Saini, owner of the godown, in the incident. “Around midnight, a request was received at HQ Western Air Command for containing a fire at Malviya Nagar. A MlH class helicopter airborne from Sarsawa did a recce and landed at Palam. Thereafter, the helicopter got airborne with bambi bucket to contain the fire,” the statement by the IAF said. The helicopter filled water from Yamuna reservoir and poured it over the site. “This had to be repeated thrice to contain the fire.

This was the first time the bambi bucket operation was done in an urban situation wherein the nitty gritties of drop are very precise, owing to high rises around and chances of collateral damage,” the statement said. The operations picked up this morning wherein a helicopter flown by Wing Commander Pradeep Bhola of the Mighty Armours assisted in dousing the fire, the IAF said. Approximately 8,000 litres of water have been used in the operation. So far, 65 fire tenders have been used to contain the blaze, the police said, adding 13 buildings, a school and a gym have been evacuated for safety reasons.