A large fuel spill coming from a military aircraft at the L. F. Wade International Airport kept the Bermuda Fire Service and airport personnel busy for several hours on Monday.

The oil spill, coming from a Lockheed L-1011 military aircraft, commonly known as a TriStar, happened at around 3.15pm and was estimated to be 40 by 30 feet wide.

“We responded to the incident with six vehicles staffed with eleven firefighters. When the duty crew arrived on scene they used Sphag Sorb absorbent to help remove the fuel from the tarmac. Once the fuel was removed, degreasers where applied to the area to help restore it to its original state. It took the duty crew nearly two hours to complete the cleanup,” said watch Commander David DeCouto of the Airport Division.

The TriStar was one of ten RAF planes that landed in Bermuda on Monday morning having flown in from the Azores. Alongside two TriStar tankers there were eight RAF Tornado fighter jets, which are understood to have stopped on their way to military exercises in the United States.

The aircraft left yesterday.