A fuel tank fell off an EA-6B Prowler as it was taking off from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and exploded, according to MCAS Yuma 1st Lt. Rob Dolan.

Dolan said the "drop tank," an external fuel tank that holds approximately 300 gallons of fuel, caused a fire when it fell to the ground around 4:50 p.m. Friday, causing a significant amount of smoke.

He said the fire was extinguished in about five minutes by the MCAS Crash, Fire and Rescue crew.

Dolan said there were no injuries.

The EA-6B Prowler is a twin engine aircraft with a primary mission of protecting fleet surface units and other aircraft by jamming hostile radars and

communications, according to www.fas.org.

Dolan said the Prowler was flown by the VMAQ-4 unit from MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.

A call to MCAS Cherry Point was not returned.

He said the "mishap will be investigated" to find out the cause of the incident and prevent it from occurring again in the future.

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Nicole Squibbs can be reached at

nsquibbs@yumasun.com or 539-6855.