Massive fire breaks out at Serum Institute of India, no casualty so far

Updated : January 21, 2021 06:18 PM IST

The fire continues to rage at the fourth and fifth floors of SEZ3 building inside Terminal Gate 1 of the institute.

A massive fire broke out on the fourth and fifth floors of SEZ3 building inside Terminal Gate 1 at the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune on Thursday. At least 10 fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.

There has been no report of any injury or casualty so far. The fire broke out in an under-construction building at Manjri plant. The COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine manufacturing plant are reportedly safe, ANI reported.

"There were four people inside the building. We have rescued three so far although large smoke is hampering the work of bringing the fire in control," said the PMC chief fire officer at SII.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray contacted the Pune Municipal Commissioner and took complete on-ground updates. He has directed state machinery to co-ordinate and ensure that situation is under control, the chief minister's office said.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also rushed to the spot. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team would reach the spot soon.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said, "Thank you everyone for your concern and prayers. So far the most important thing is that there have been no lives lost or major injuries due to the fire, despite a few floors being destroyed."

SII was involved in the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield along with the University of Oxford and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. Covidshield is one of the vaccines that is being administered to the frontline workers in India in the first phase of the inoculation drive.

Published : January 21, 2021 03:16 PM IST

Massive fire breaks out at Serum Institute of India, no casualty so far

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