Major fire at vaccine maker Serum Inst, COVID vax unharmed

Pune: A major fire has reportedly broken out at a plant of the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Manjari near Hadapsar. SII is manufacturing Covishield, a vaccine against Coronavirus disease, by Oxford-AstraZeneca. However, it has been reported that the SII had clarified that the plant that is on fire is not the one where the COVID vaccine is being manufactured. It has been stated that the fire is at Terminal 1 gate of the Institute. 

“This is a major fire incident, and it is going to take us a while to douse it. We are doing our best. We have sent 10 fire tenders with branto to the site of the incident. Three workers who were trapped inside the building have been rescued. We believe there might be more people in the building, and we are trying to look for and rescue them at the moment,” a fire officer from the Pune Fire Brigade told Indie Journal.

The Fire Department did not confirm what exactly was the function of the building that caught fire. However, as per sources from the Serum Institute of India, the fire has broken out at an under-construction building.

The Institute has not yet released an official statement on the incident.

4:10pm: The fire was brought under control.

4:34pm: Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawala tweeted, "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."

(The story will be updated as and when we receive and confirm more details.)