A massive fire broke out at Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) on Thursday. The blaze erupted at the institute's Manjari premises in the afternoon and 15 fire tenders were rushed to the site. Apart from ensuring avoidance of any collateral damage, the concern also centered around the incident as the institute is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, producing millions of doses to fight the coronavirus.
Officials said since the fire occurred at the Manjari plant, it will not affect the production of the vaccine. "The fire incident will not affect vaccine production. There was no vaccine-related work or storage at the Manjari plant premises. The vaccine production is going on at a different place which is quite far from here. So there is nothing to worry about," Local MLA Chetan Tupe confirmed to India TV.
According to officials, the fire initially broke out on the third floor of the institute spread over 100 acres. It later spread on to the fourth and then the fifth floor of the Manjari premises. The Chief Fire Officer (CFO) said the calls were received around 2.30 pm. "As of now, we do not have details about the nature of fire, the extent of damages, or the causes. Our priority will be to bring the fire under control and avert any damages of casualties," he said.
Six people have been rescued so far. Efforts are underway to break the glasses and rescue more people trapped inside the building. Meanwhile, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been moved to assist in operations.
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