As per News18, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, during a visit to the Serum Institute of India, said that energy audit teams have been instructed to conduct a fire audit, which will happen tomorrow
A fire broke out at the Serum Institute of India Pune again in the evening. ANI
Fire at Serum Institute Pune Latest Updates: As per News18, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, during a visit to the Serum Institute of India, said that energy audit teams have been instructed to conduct a fire audit, which will happen tomorrow. He added that the government is trying its best to gather more information
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.
As per The Hindu, a second, relatively minor blaze, erupted at around 7 pm on the third floor of the same building. Both fires were brought under control by evening, said fire department authorities.
"The loss of lives in a fire accident at the Serum Institute of India in Pune is distressing. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery of the injured," tweeted President Ramnath Kovind.
Earlier in the day five persons were charred to death after a fire broke out at the SII plant in Pune's Manjari.
In a statement, SII's Chairman and MD Cyrus Poonawalla said: " We are deeply saddened and offer our condolences to the families of the departed." He said Rs 25 lakh compensation will be given to each family in addition to the amount mandated as per norms.
According to reports, a fire has again broken out on the sixth floor the same building at Serum Institute of India's Pune campus where a fire was reported earlier. Fire fighting operations are underway once again.
PrimeMinister Narendra Modi has consoled the death of five persons who lost their lives in the blaze.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will visit SII's plant in Pune's Manjari on Friday, 22 January and inspect the site of the fire and take stock of the situation, tweeted the Chief Minister's Office.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said he was anguished to learn about the "unfortunate news of loss of lives due to the fire break out at Serum Insitute of India's facility in Pune. He also appreciated the efforts of the Pune Polcie and the Fire Department to bring the fire under control.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, in a presser following fire at SII's Pune plant, said that six people have been rescued so far and fire brigade officials worked on a war footing. Thackeray said that according to according to the preliminary information fire occurred due to an electric fault during the on-going construction work.
Speaking to reporters, Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol confimed that five persons were killed in the fire which broke out on Thursday afternoon at the Serum Institute of India plant in the city.
SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said that there would be "no loss" of the production of Covishield vaccine doses in the fire that broke out at the facility on Thursday.
As per The Hindu, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said five persons have lost their lives in the fire which erupted at SII's Pune plant. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla also confirmed that some deaths had been reported but did not give a clear number. Poonawalla said that upon further investigation it was found that there has "unfortunately been some loss of life" and offered condolences to families of the deceased.
Meanwhile Prashant Ranpise, the Chief Fire Officer with Pune City Fire Brigade, said the fire has been brought under control and cooling operations are underway.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has directed Pune authorities to conduct an in-depth probe of the fire that broke out at the Serum Institute of India (SII) on Thursday. CNN-News18 reported that the investigative team is likely to be headed by the Pune district collector.
The report also said that the fire has attracted international attention since the SII is manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines for companies around the world.
Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted" 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." He also thanked everyone for their prayers and concerns. A fire had broken out the Serum Insitute of India on Thursday afternoon and officials said three persons have been evacuated so far.
Three persons were evacuated from a building in the SII premises after a fire broke out there on Thursday, said police.Deputy Commissioner of Police Namrata Patil told PTI the fire broke out at 2.45 pm on the fourth and fifth floor of the SEZ 3 building in the Serum Institute premises."As per the primary information, three people have been evacuated," she said.
A fire broke out at the Serum Institute of India's Manjari plant in Pune on Thursday afternoon, as per several media reports.
"The fire broke in a building in the premises. We have sent water tenders to the spot," PTI quoted a fire brigade official as saying.
As per the news agency, the Manjari facility is where Covishield vaccine, used in the nationwide inoculation drive against the coronavirus
pandemic, is made.
However, a Hindustan Times report quoted SII executive director Dr Suresh Jadhav as saying that the fire broke out at a facility where work related to the BCG vaccine-related was underway and the facility where Covishield, the COVID-19 vaccine, is manufactured and stored is located at a distance from this facility.
A fire brigade official told the Indian Express that the fire broke out the second floor of a new building at the campus. An official who is supervising the rescue operation told the newspaper that four people were stuck when the blaze intensified and three of them have been evacuated. "Efforts are on to safely evacuate the fourth person,” said the officer who is supervising the rescue operation.
India has approved two vaccines – Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and Oxford/AstraZeneca's Covishield being manufactured by SII.
With inputs from PTI