Five die as fire breaks out at Serum Institute facility in Pune

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NEW DELHI, Jan 21, 2021 (BSS) – At least five people were killed and several others injured when a fire broke out today in an under-construction building at Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune under the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh confirmed the deaths three hours after the fire engulfed the vaccine production unit. Fire fighters brought the fire under control after three-hours of hectic efforts, he said.

“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,” Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted.

It is unlikely to hit the production of Covishield, the coronavirus vaccine which has been developed by the SII in partnership with the Oxford University and British-Swedish pharma firm AstraZeneca, Poonawalla added.

Manjari, the complex where the fire broke out, is a few minutes’ drive from the facility where the Covid vaccines are produced.

However, Pune Mayor MurlidharMohol told the media that four people were evacuated from the building but when it came under control, five bodies were found by “our jawans”.

The mayor added that “the five people who died were perhaps the workers at the under-construction building”.

“The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but it is being speculated that welding, that was going on at the building, caused the fire,” Mohol said.

As the smoke filled the building, authorities rushed and evacuated nine people trapped inside in the Serum Institute of India’s Manjari premises, police said.

Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine maker and has been contracted to manufacture a billion doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked the state machinery to ensure that the fire is brought under control, his office tweeted. He is in touch with the Pune Municipal Commissioner, the CMO added.