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IndiaA fire broke out at the Serum Institute in the state of Maharashtra, which is producing millions of doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, killing five people.
Television footage showed thick, billowing clouds rising from a Serum Institute building in Pune, Maharashtra state, western India this afternoon. A fire broke out at the facility under construction on a 40-acre campus.
The burned complex was reported to be a few minutes’ drive from the Covid-19 vaccine production facility. Up to nine buildings are being constructed in the complex to increase vaccine production capacity.
Today smoke rose from a fire at the Indian Serum Institute. Image: India today.
“Five people have died,” said Murlidhar Mohol, mayor of Pune. The bodies of the victims were discovered after the fire was under control.
“We are deeply saddened and offer our sincere condolences to the families of the deceased,” tweeted Adar Poonawalla, executive director of the Serum Institute, but did not provide further details.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
The Indian Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine producer, is producing millions of doses of the Covid-19 Covishield vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The company confirmed that the production of the pandemic vaccine was not affected by the fire.
The Serum Institute, founded in 1966 by Cyrus Poonawalla, Adar’s father. The facility produces 1.5 billion doses of vaccines each year, including vaccines against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and exports to more than 170 countries.
The Serum Institute also plans to provide 200 million doses of the Covax Mechanism, an effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to purchase and distribute the Covid-19 vaccine to poor countries.
Flee him (According to the AFP)
