Archives

Extensive damage to MTV station

A major fire which broke out in the studios including the main control room of the MTV station at Depanama Pannipitiya at around 1.30 p.m. on Sunday (Jan 6) which knocked off the electronic media transmissions of the Maharaja Organisation had caused extensive material damage worth over rupees 200 million a spokesman for the station told the 'Daily News' yesterday.

He said they were still grappling hard to resume their transmissions but he failed to give a clear answer as to when the badly disrupted transmissions could be restored as the studios of the MTV from where the transmissions are beamed have been totally gutted as a result of the fire.

The MTV spokesman said that initial Police investigations revealed to the Maharaja Organisation had indicated that there was no sabotage involved in the incident but that welding wiring carried out close to the main control room would have caused the fire.

The condition of 15 MTV employees who had inhaled toxic smoke and who were hospitalised is said to be stable and out of danger at the Pannipitiya hospital.

The fire which raged for over one and a half hours was finally doused by the officials of the Colombo Fire Brigade which had sent six vehicles to the scene of the blaze.

The MTV transmissions which include Sirasa TV, Shakthi TV, Sirasa FM, and Yes FM were still beamed from a temporary installed control room nearby to the main transmission studio.

However the normal media programs of the Maharaja Organisation were still not being aired due to the breakdown in the transmission room. Hence all the television channels run by the company were airing the same recorded programs.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager