Major fire at Serum Institute of India, 5 dead; Covishield vaccine manufacturing facility unaffected
The fire, which broke out at Serum Institute of India’s fifth floor building was brought under control in two hours, police said. Meanwhile, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said that Covishield vaccine production won”t be hit due to the fire.
January 21, 2021 21:50
New Delhi: At least 5 people lost their lives after a major fire broke out in a five-storeyed under-construction building in the Serum Institute of India premises in Pune.
The fire broke out in a building in the vaccine manufacturer’s 100-acre campus in Manjri area around 2.45 pm. The exact cause of the fire was yet to be determined.
All were construction workers whose bodies were recovered by fire brigade personnel from the fifth floor. Nine other persons were evacuated from the spot by firefighter team.
The fire, which broke out at 2.45 pm on the fourth and fifth floors of the building, was brought under control in two hours, police said.
The Serum Institute of India is manufacturing the Covishield vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said that Covishield vaccine production won”t be hit due to the fire.
“I would like to reassure all governments & the public that there would be no loss of #COVISHIELD production due to multiple production buildings that I had kept in reserve to deal with such contingencies at @SerumInstIndia,” Poonawalla tweeted.
“We have just received some distressing updates; upon further investigation we have learnt that there has unfortunately been some loss of life at the incident. We are deeply saddened and offer our deepest condolences to the family members of the departed,” Poonawalla added.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the state government has ordered a probe into the fire.
Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd is the world”s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.5 billion doses) which includes Polio vaccine as well as Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines, as per the company”s website.
