Smelly carton triggers scare at Kochi airport

KOCHI - There was some chaos and scare at Kerala’s Kochi Airport Sunday when cargo loaders detected a loosely packed carton containing chemicals with a foul smell emanating from it.

The men loading cargo on to the Kingfisher IT 2482 flight from here to Chennai detected the carton.

“They found a packet with foul smell. It was improperly packed. There were three bottles and it was a chemical sample being sent to a Pondicherry detergent company,” Cochin International Airport Ltd Airport Director A.C.K. Nair told IANS.

He denied media reports that a fire had broken out in the cargo hold of the aircraft.

“This (incident of loaders finding carton) did not happen inside the aircraft and there was no fire,” Nair said.

He said the flight left at the scheduled time.

“We have formed a committee to enquire into what really happened. If there is any lapse on the part of the courier company with regard to careless packing, then we will take action against them,” said Nair.