Fire breaks out at facility of world's largest vaccine manufacturer

A major fire broke out in the newly constructed six-story building of Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune today, Jan. 21. 

SII is the world’s largest vaccine maker manufacturing the Covishield vaccine by Oxford-AstraZeneca. 

Although police officers and the fire brigade have not yet determined the cause of the fire, they said it intensified when it came in contact with inflammable materials like PVC, plastic, plywood, and acrylic on site.

“There was a lot of air conditioning material, including insulation material and objects used for fabrication. There were objects made from PVC, acrylic, plastic, plywood, and wood,” a fire brigade official told The Indian Express..

Five people identified as welders and air conditioning laborers were killed in the incident. “We were doing the work of AC insulation on the fourth floor when we suddenly saw smoke rising. Within a few seconds, the smoke became so dense that we were unable to see anything,” said Avinash Saroj, whose brother Bipin Saroj was among the casualties. 

Three floors of the building were destroyed by the fire. However, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, SII’s chairman and managing director, said that this would not have an impact on the production of the Covishield vaccine. 

According to The Indian Express, the Manjri plant, where the fire broke out, is three kilometers from the institute’s main plant in Hadapsar, where the jabs are being manufactured.

Photo from Press Trust of India.