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fire triggered by a short circuit in an office at the Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, nearly razed the airport on Monday before it was put out and left insignificant damage.

Deli Serdang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Edi Faryadi said the fire had flared from an office of state-run airport firm Angkasa Pura. The fire was sparked by an electrical wire that could not withstand the power load. As a result, added Edi, smoke immediately billowed and caused panic.

Edi said the smoke, which came from an office near the arrival hall, had caused panic among visitors. The situation, however, quickly returned to normal after security guards doused the fire.

'€œWe, however, will still investigate the incident,'€ he said.

Officially opened in March last year, Kualanamu has a capacity to hold 8 million people. However, just a few months after its operations began; the number of passengers had reached 8.3 million.

The airport operator invested Rp 2.2 trillion (US$156.2 million) to construct the landside area, while the government allocated Rp 39 trillion from the state budget to construct the airside area.