Rs 1,000 cr loss; non-Covid supply lines...

Police have registered an accidental death and burning incident case with the Hadapsar police station, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) Namrata Patil.

Devendra Potphode, Chief Fire Officer, PMRDA, said "We are trying to ascertain the cause of the fire, as well as how it spread. Several types of equipment were damaged in the blaze. On the basis of the findings from all the agencies, a conclusion will be reached on how the fire started." A team of forensic experts reached the spot and conducted their probe. "We were very lucky that the incident took place in a building where the Covid-19 vaccine was not being stored. It has happened where other vaccines are being produced and we will make up for that production," said Poonawalla. He added that the facility meant for the rotavirus and BCG vaccines had suffered major damages in the fire. "We will try and make up the supply gap in our other facilities. Mainly, the loss is financial and there will not be any loss in terms of supplies," the SII CEO said. This was a new building where additional production capacity was being put in place, he added. The SII issued a statement saying, “The fire broke in an underinstallation building of the SII plant at Manjari." Further, the statement said that the institute had suffered financial losses due to the fire and the incident would impact the production of BCG and rotavirus vaccines in the future. Meanwhile, NCP President Sharad Pawar said the fire was an "accident and there is absolutely no doubt about the integrity of scientists working with the SII.’’ He was responding to a question about allegations of sabotage behind the fire on Thursday.