5 die in fire at Serum Institute
Five people — four men and a woman — died on Friday in a massive fire which broke out in Pune’s Serum Institute of India. The fire broke out in an under-construction building. Six people were rescued by fire brigade personnel. However, the production of the Covid vaccine Covishield will not be affected.
Maharashtra’s public health minister Rajesh Tope said the fire was now under control. Five charred bodies were found after the blaze was doused.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said as per preliminary information, the fire broke out due to an electric fault during ongoing construction work. He will visit the institute on Friday.
Speaking to this newspaper, Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta, who visited the spot, said: “The dead bodies are yet to be identified.”
A senior disaster management unit official, seeking anonymity, said: “The fire erupted suddenly at around 1 pm on the fourth and fifth floors of a building at the SII complex in Gopal Patti. Prima facie it appears that the cause of the short-circuit.”
Speaking with reporters, Mr Tope said the fire had broken out at a newly constructed building, where work related to rotavirus plant installation was under way. The fire was noticed at around 2 pm.
“Five fire tenders and three water tankers were sent to the spot. It took around two-three hours to extinguish the fire. Fire personnel discovered five
◗ MAHARASHRA’S health minister, Serum CEO both say production of Covishield vaccine will not be affected
bodies when they entered the building after the fire was completely doused,” Mr Tope said.
The health minister said the Covishield vaccine’s building was far from the fire. He also said that a police investigation was under way and a fire audit would also be conducted.
In a series of tweets, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla 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.”
In another tweet, Mr Poonawalla said: “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.”