Fire rages Covishield producer Serum Institute's plant

PUNE: A massive fire broke out at a building inside Covishield vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Terminal Gate 1 at Pune in Maharashtra this afternoon.

At least 10 fire tenders were engaged to control the flames on the fourth and fifth floors of the SEZ3 building at Gopalpatti area.

According to reports production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will not be affected because the blaze broke out at an under-construction plant.

ALSO READ: BJP will demolish 3,500 mosques: Badruddin Ajmal

The reports also say that at least three persons have been rescued. The cause of the blaze was yet to ascertained.

Adar Poonawalla's SII, the world's largest vaccine manufacturing company, is spread over 100 acres of land in Pune.

SII has already manufactured 50 million doses of Covishield vaccine on at-risk funding. Overall, the vaccine giants aim to develop 3.2 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines at its facilities in India. The company is ramping up capacity every week.