Fire breaks out at Pune-based Serum Institute of India – Adar Poonawala, the CEO, has confirmed
At around 3 pm today, a fire broke out at the Serum Institute of India based out of Pune, Maharashtra. According to the Institute’s Public Relations Officer, the fire broke out a new building, SEZ-3 in the Manjari area. The building’s fourth and fifth floors caught fire. The building is currently under construction.
#WATCH Maharashtra: 10 fire tenders present at Serum Institute of India in Pune, where a fire broke out at Terminal 1 gate. More details awaited. https://t.co/wria89t22t pic.twitter.com/u960KTR7JS
— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2021
Adar Poonawala, the CEO, has confirmed that there have been no casualties. or major injuries. The four people trapped have been rescued and evacuated, says Deputy Commissioner Namrata Patil
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.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 21, 2021
The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, is currently in the process of manufacturing the Covishield vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. It is one of the two vaccines that has been granted emergency approval in India. Luckily, the vaccine was not stored in the part of the building that caught on fire. It will most likely not have any effect on its production and distributional.
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. Thank you very much @PuneCityPolice & Fire Department
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 21, 2021
The Chief Minister of Maharastra, Uddhav Thackrey has spoken to the Pune Fire Department over the phone. He has directed the administration to bring the situation under control as soon as possible.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but the consensus seems to agree that it is an accident. Potential causes may be a chemical leak or a haphazard fire in the construction site.
