5 dead in Serum Institute fire; Covishield facility unaffected
Fire breaks out due to an electric fault during the ongoing construction
Five people including four men died on Friday in a massive fire which broke out in Pune’s Serum Institute of India (SII). The fire broke out in an under construction building. Six people were rescued by the fire department personnel. However, the production of Covid vaccine would not be affected.
Maharashtra Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the fire is under control. Five bodies were found after the fire was doused.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said that as per the preliminary information, the fire broke out due to an electric fault during the ongoing construction works. He will visit the Institute on Friday.
Speaking with this newspaper, Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta, who visited the spot, said, “The bodies are yet to be identified.”
A senior official of Disaster Management Unit, requesting anonymity said, “The fire erupted suddenly around 1.00 pm on the fifth floor of a building at the SII complex in Gopal Patti. Primafacie, it appears that the cause of the fire is shortcircuit.”
Speaking with the reporters, Mr. Tope said that the fire broke out at a newly constructed building, where work related to rotavirus plant installation was underway. The fire was noticed around 2.00 pm.
“Five fire tenders and three water tankers were sent to the spot. It took around two-three hours to extinguish the fire. Fire personal discovered five bodies when they entered the building after the fire was completely doused,” Mr. Tope said.
The health minister said that the Covishield vaccine’s building is far away from the fire. He also said that the police investigation
is underway 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 (sic).” 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 (sic).”
A team of the National
Disaster Response Force was also sent to the spot from Talegaon on the outskirts of Pune.
Cyrus S Poonawalla, chairman and MD of Serum Institute of India, on Thursday said the vaccine major will offer a compensation of `25 lakh in addition to the mandated amount to families of persons who died in a fire at the company’s premises in Pune.
“Today is an extremely sorrowful day for all of us at Serum Institute of India. Regrettably, there were losses of lives in the fire that broke out in our under installation facility situated at the Special Economic Zone at Manjari,” Poonawalla said in a statement.
“We are deeply saddened and offer our condolences to the families of the departed. In this regard, we will be offering a compensation
of `25 lakh to each of the families, in addition to the mandated amount as per the norms,” he added.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to everyone for their concerns and prayers in these distressing times,” Poonawalla said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the loss of lives in a fire at the Serum Institute of India building. Modi tweeted, “Anguished by the loss of lives due to an unfortunate fire at the @SerumInstIndia. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said it was distressing to learn of the tragic loss of lives in a fire incident at a Serum
Institute of India facility and urged the state government to provide necessary help to the victims and their families.
“While it's distressing to learn of the tragic loss of lives in the fire incident at Serum Institute, the news of another fire is extremely worrying,” Gandhi said in a tweet.
“My condolences to the family of the deceased. I request the state govt to provide necessary help to the victims & their families,” he said.
The Manjari facility is where the Covishield vaccine used in the nationwide inoculation drive against the pandemic is made.
The building where the fire broke out is part of the under-construction site of the Serum facility and is one km from the Covishield manufacturing unit, sources said.