COLOMBO, April 26: Sri Lankan troops fired anti-aircraft weapons, evacuated passengers and briefly shut the international airport here on Thursday night fearing a Tamil Tiger air raid, officials said.

Airport officials said they were asked to shut down the runway and all incoming flights were diverted to neighbouring India following reports rebel attack planes were approaching.

Two Sri Lankan Airlines flights were re-directed to Chennai in southern India, officials said.

The airline said there would be delays following the scare.

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.

Troops at the military base, which was attacked by Tamil Tiger rebels a month ago, fired anti-aircraft weapons, a senior government official said.

“The firing lasted a few minutes following information that two Tiger aircraft were sighted heading towards the airport. There was, however, no attack,” the official said.

Air force spokesman Ajantha Silva said the air defence system had been activated after unidentified aircraft were spotted north of the airport.

Residents near the Bandaranaike International Airport, which shares a runway with the airbase, 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.

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 guerillas 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.—AFP