A fire broke out at the Biovac Laboratories in Pinelands yesterday morning, but authorities say there is no evidence that this was a sabotage attempt.
Authorities say there is no foul play suspected in the incident and the lab where medical production takes place was not affected.
Biovac said on Facebook: “We can confirm that a fire occurred in one of our research and development buildings.
“No personnel or products were impacted.
“There will be no impact to our normal operations of manufacturing and delivering vaccines.
“The root course has not yet been established [and] there is no evidence of foul play.
“SAPS were on scene and a case has been opened as in the normal course of such events.”
JP Smith, the Mayco member for Safety and Security, says Fire and Rescue Services were informed about the fire at 5am.
“Fire services from Roeland St, Brooklyn, Epping and Bellville attended the scene, the fire was extinguished before 8am.
“There is no evidence that this was an attempted attack on Covid vaccine stores as is being speculated, since preliminary investigations suggest the fire’s origin relates to a HVAC fault, due to the prompt response of our Fire Services only a separate building suffered damage while the laboratory itself was completely protected,” says Smith.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swaartbooi confirms: “Our reports indicate that the fire was not on the side of the laboratory of the building. The fire was extinguished by local firefighters.”