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New Delhi, Delhi, India
Hours after a fire was extinguished, new blazes broke out in a compartment of the same building Serum Institute of India in Pune.
Earlier, at least five people died as a major fire broke out at the premises of the Serum Institute, world's biggest vaccine manufacturer on Thursday.
Maharashtra: Fire breaks out again in one compartment of the same building at Serum Institute of India (SII), in Pune. Fire fighting operation is underway. More details awaited.
Fire had broken out at Manjri Plant of SII today afternoon and claimed five lives. pic.twitter.com/6MKDWiCxZt
â ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2021
Pune mayor said that five people, who were workers at the under-construction building lost their lives in the fires.
The police said that nine people were evacuated from the building located at the institute's Manjari premises, the facility where Covishield', which is Oxford-AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, is manufactured.
#BREAKING | Fire breaks out at Pune's Serum Institute of India; 10 fire tenders deployed
(Video credits: ANI) pic.twitter.com/EXBkafbC2R
â WION (@WIONews) January 21, 2021
Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla had earlier claimed that there has been no loss or major injuries to anyone, but later confirmed that there has been some fatalities.
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.
â Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 21, 2021
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
â Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 21, 2021
Thank you everyone for your concern and prayers. So far the most important thing is that there have been no lives lost or major injuries due to the fire, despite a few floors being destroyed.
â Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 21, 2021
He also said that the incident would not affect the production of the Covid-19 vaccine.
"Thank you everyone for your concern and prayers. So far the most important thing is that there have been no lives lost or major injuries due to the fire, despite a few floors being destroyed," Poonawalla wrote in a tweet.
"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," he added in another tweet.
Visuals of the fire that straight away caught the public eye showed the smoke billowing out from the facility.
PM Narendra Modi extended his condolences to the families of the ones who lost their lives in the fire.
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.
â Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 21, 2021
The police said that the fire broke out on the fourth and fifth floors of the SEZ 3 building in the Serum Institute premises and was brought under control in two hours.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the state government has ordered an investigation into the fire.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta said all the people that were present inside the facility have been evacuated.
To the unversed, Serum Institute is playing a major role in India's mass vaccination dive against Covid-19 that began from January 16 and is also delivering millions of doses of the vaccine to several nations.