A great fire broke out at a Serum Institute of India Plant in Pune. As many as 10 fire tenders were rushed on to the scene to deal with the situation and prevent it from spreading.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRP) was also sent to the scene to control the fire that broke out at around 2.45 pm. The cause of the fire at the Serum Institute plant yet to be ascertained.
At 5:10 pm, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India took to Twitter to reassure the public that no loss of life had been reported and that the vaccines were also safe.
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
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 21, 2021
He gave a thankful word to the Police Department of Pune as well as the Fire Department.
The complex where the fire broke out, is actually quite far from the facility where the Coronavirus vaccines are produced.
The Serum Institute of India has been in the process of manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, developed by the Oxford University and AstraZeneca. Covishield is one of the two vaccines against the novel Coronavirus that have been granted emergency use approval in the country by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).