A massive fire erupted at the Serum Institute of India in Pune, Maharashtra on Thursday. The blaze broke out at the Terminal 1 gate, according to preliminary information. The causes of the incident are currently unclear. The emergency services arrived at the site to put out the fire.
Chief fire officer, PMC, Prashant Ranpise on fire at Serum Institute of India: “There were four people inside the building. We have rescued three so far although large smoke is hampering the work of bringing the fire in control. pic.twitter.com/UBFWReKofF
— Yogesh Joshi (@ymjoshi) January 21, 2021
Fire breaks out at Terminal 1 of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which is world’s largest Vaccine producer and India's Pride.
— Megh Updates 🚨 (@MeghUpdates) January 21, 2021
10 fire tenders on the spot. Reason Not Known as of Nowpic.twitter.com/QKaywknBOc
According to an emergency official, five people were found dead in the facility.
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.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 21, 2021
Serum Institute is producing millions of doses of the Covishield medication, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. It also has a deal with Novavax for the development of its vaccine in India and several other countries.