5 killed in Serum Institute of India fire in Pune; deeply saddened, says CEO Adar Poonawalla

Pune: Five charred bodies were recovered after a massive fire broke out at the Serum Institute of India (SII) plant in Manjari near Hadapsar here on Thursday.

“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”, CEO and owner of SII Adar Poonawalla said in his tweet.

The fire which broke out at about 1445 hrs at the fourth and fifth floor of the building was brought under control after fire brigades rushed to the spot immediately.

An officer from Pune Fire brigade said, “after getting information, we have rushed 10 fire tenders to control the fire.”

Initially, six employees were rescued by the fire personnel.

The SII is engaged in large scale production of Corona vaccine Covishield and Manjri campus is one among their facilities. However, the production of Covishield vaccine was not being affected, sources 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,” Mr Poonawalla said in another tweet. (UNI)