Video: Fire breaks out at Serum Institute's under-construction plant

A major fire has been reported at a plant of the Serum Institute of India in Pune on Thursday afternoon. According to reports, the fire was reported at a building near the Terminal 1 gate which is located in the Manjri area of Pune. 

Hindustan Times quoted SII executive director Suresh Jadhav as saying that the facility where the fire broke out is situated far from where the Covishield vaccine is manufactured and stored.

The fire broke out at an under construction building inside the institute’s campus and therefore is unlikely to affect the vaccine production. 

The Covishield vaccine against COVID-19, developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca, is being manufactured domestically in India by SII. The institute is spread over 100 acres of land in Pune, and is the largest vaccine maker in the world. NDTV further reported that Manjari, where the fire broke out, was far from the area where the vaccines have been stored. The entire area is also reportedly a part of a Special Economic Zone. 

#WATCH Maharashtra: 10 fire tenders present at Serum Institute of India in Pune, where a fire broke out at Terminal 1 gate. More details awaited. https://t.co/wria89t22t pic.twitter.com/u960KTR7JS

— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2021

The fire was reported on the fifth floor of the plant, where BCG-vaccine related work has been going on. The BCG vaccine is administered against tuberculosis. 

The incident came to light around 2.50 pm on Thursday, after which 10 fire tenders and two extra tankers were rushed to the spot, Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol told HT. 

"The fire broke in a building in the premises. We have sent water tenders to the spot," a fire brigade official told PTI.

More details about the mishap are awaited.

The SII manufactured Covishield vaccines are also being exported to some neighbouring countries. As of Wednesday, Bhutan and Maldives became the first two countries to receive COVID-19 vaccines from India under grants assistance in sync with its 'neighbourhood first' policy. India sent 150,000 doses of Covisheild vaccines to Bhutan and 100,000 doses to the Maldives.