The fire broke out at a building inside Terminal Gate 1 of the Serum Institute of India (SII) located in Pune, Maharashtra. SII is the manufacturer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine – Covishield on Thursday afternoon
10 fire tenders were hurried to the spot to bring the flames at the Serum Institute of India's Manjari premises under control. However, fire remains uncontrolled on the 4th and 5th floors of SEZ3 building inside Terminal Gate 1 of the SII.
It is reported that the Covishield vaccine is being produced at the Manjri facility, while other media reports suggest that the fire broke out at an under-construction building at SII, meaning this would not have any effect on the production of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The reasons behind the blaze are not yet clear and three people have been rescued.
Meanwhile, visuals of thick clouds of smoke emerging out of the buildings in the SII complex can be seen at Gopalpatti.
CM Uddhav Thackeray on the fire.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's office has said he is in touch with the Pune Municipal Commissioner and is taking updates on the incident.
"CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray is in touch with the Pune Municipal Commissioner and is taking complete on-ground updates. He has directed the state machinery to coordinate and ensure that the situation is under control," the CMO said in a tweet.
Adar Poonawalla’s reaction.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India speaking to India today said they are trying to rescue the people who are still trapped in the building.
"We are focusing on rescuing the people stuck. I don't care about anything else. We are looking out to save our people first. We will assess the damage later," Adar Poonawalla said.
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About the company.
The Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd was founded by Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966 and is presently the world's largest vaccine manufacturer which is estimated by the number of doses produced and sold globally.
Approximately, 65 per cent of the children across the world receive at least one vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute.
"Vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute are accredited by the World Health Organization, Geneva and are being used in around 170 countries across the globe in their national immunization programs, saving millions of lives throughout the world."