Fire at Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre damages properties worth Rs 110 cr: Minister Priyank Kharge
Bengaluru, Jan 14: A fire broke out at Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) on Tuesday morning and there were no casualties, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said.
The BBC is a Government of Karnataka undertaking which is located at the Electronic City in Bengaluru.
"The preliminary estimation of loss sustained by startups ranged from Rs 80 crore to Rs 110 crore. The estimated loss to BBC properties was approximately Rs 42 crore. No loss to life," Kharge's office said in a statement.
The minister who holds the Information Technology and Biotechnology portfolio said the fire mishap occurred on the second floor of the facility which was recently revamped to house more number of startups.
The second floor was completely gutted, while extensive damage was also sustained to first and ground floors due to the interconnected HVAC lines, the Minister's office said.
The fire severely damaged common infrastructure of BBC, including the Bangalore Bio Bank, Cleanroom facility, Flowcytometry, HVAC units, AC units, among others.
Various equipment of the Incubated startups were also damaged, according to the minister.
"The list of startups gravely affected includes - Fermbox (3 labs), Phyxx 44 (3 labs), Ajitha prodrug (1 lab), Galore Tx (1 lab), Ikesia (1 lab), Immunitas (2 labs) Yokogawa (1 lab). Several other startups were also affected (Including Atrimed pharma, 4basecare, Anabio, Anava bio, Pandorium, Oxonexe Presude Lifesciences, Zhichu among others," the statement read.
The fire in the startup room on the second floor broke out "due to improper management of flammable solvent in the lab".
"All BBC startups were previously informed not to store and use any large volume of inflammable chemicals in their labs and a separate open storage area was provided for the same," said the statement.
A fire broke out at the Bangalore BioInnovation Center earlier today and the cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained.
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) January 14, 2025
It is heartbreaking to witness years of hard work and dedication by our entrepreneurs reduced to ashes. I want to reassure them that the government stands… pic.twitter.com/qwD61Vxs58
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3 killed, 15 injured as auto-rickshaw hits multiple vehicles in Thane
Thane (PTI): Three persons were killed and 15 others injured when an auto-rickshaw hit a bus and some other vehicles on a highway in Maharashtra's Thane district on Wednesday morning, police said.
The accident took place at 4.15 am on Mumbai-Agra highway near Khinavli bridge at Ghoteghar village in Shahapur taluka, they said.
The auto-rickshaw driver lost control over the wheels. As a result, the vehicle hit the road-divider, jumped the lane and collided with a private luxury bus, two cars and a tempo coming from the opposite direction, an official from Shahapur police station told PTI.
Three occupants of the bus died on the spot and 15 other persons, including the auto-rickshaw driver, were injured, he said.
The bus was on way from Nashik to Mumbai, the official said.
After being alerted, local police along with the emergency response teams rushed to the spot.
The injured persons were admitted to Shahapur sub-hospital and three of them were reported to be in a serious condition, the official said.
The bodies were sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, the police added.
