Agence France-Presse,
Sri Lankan troops fired anti-aircraft guns and briefly shut the international airport here Thursday night after detecting a Tamil Tiger aircraft in the area, defence authorities said.
Airport officials said they were asked to shut down the runway and all incoming flights were diverted to neighbouring India following reports that rebel attack planes were approaching.
“Sri Lanka's air force engaged its air defence weapons at a suspicious aircraft observed in the Katunayake sky short while ago,” the defence ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The ministry said air defence weapon systems were activated to avoid a “possible terror air raid” on the military air base that shares a runway with the island's only international airport.
An air force spokesman said the air defence system had been activated after unidentified aircraft were spotted north of the airport.
Tiger suicide bombers attacked Bandaranaike International airport in July 2001, and the air base was bombed by Tiger light aircraft a month ago, killing three airmen.
Two Sri Lankan Airlines flights were re-directed to Chennai in southern India following Thursday's scare, officials said. The airline said delays would follow.
A military helicopter gunship sent to check the reports was forced to make a crash landing due to a technical problem, but the pilots managed to bail out, official sources said.
Residents near the Bandaranaike International Airport said the gunfire went on for about 10 minutes.
“Passengers were ordered to the ground floor after we heard gun fire and some blasts,” a woman passenger at the airport said by telephone. “It was a panic situation, but no one was hurt.”
Immediately after the alarm was raised at the airport, a power failure plunged the capital into darkness as part of the military's air defence system.
The authorities had been switching off power to the city to test their defence systems in case of a night-time rebel air attack.
The guerrillas flew over a northern military complex on Tuesday and bombed security personnel, killing six and wounding 13.
Authorities set up a hotline for residents to call with information about unidentified aircraft after the guerrillas last month demonstrated that they had flying capabilities.
