Serum Institute Fire Doused, But 5 Workers Lose Lives

Pune: Five persons lost their lives after a fire broke out at an under-construction site in Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Manjari building premises here on Thursday, police said.

Nine people were evacuated from the premises, PTI reported. SII is producing the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine Covishield.

The fire, which broke out at 2.45 pm on the fourth and fifth floors of the SEZ 3 building, was brought under control in two hours, police informed.

The company’s CEO Adar Poonawalla reassured the country that there would be no loss of Covishield production.

“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,” Poonawalla tweeted later.

According to Mayor Murlidhar Mohol, the five people who died were working in the building. The bodies were recovered while fire officials were inspecting the site, he added.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the state government has ordered a probe into the incident.

Also Read: Fire At Serum Institute Of India, Won’t Affect Covishield Production