Huge fire breaks out at world’s biggest Covid vaccine factory in India killing five
FIVE people have been killed after a huge fire broke out at the site of the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer in India. Smoke was seen billowing from Serum Institute in India in the western city of Pune today. The site is producing millions of doses of the Covishield Covid vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and […]
FIVE people have been killed after a huge fire broke out at the site of the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer in India.
Smoke was seen billowing from Serum Institute in India in the western city of Pune today.
The site is producing millions of doses of the Covishield Covid vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
Local reports have said the fire was sparked at a construction site at the institute.
Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol said” The five people who died were perhaps the workers at the under-contruction building.
“The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but it is being speculated that welding that was going on at the building caused the fire.”
The plant had hoped to vaccinate 30 million health and other frontline workers by August in the world’s fasted jab rollout.
Speaking of the plans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last week: “This scale of vaccination campaign has never been attempted in history and this shows India’s capability.”
A source at the institute has confirmed that the production of the Coronavirus jabs will not be affected, but the company has declined to comment.
The institute has been manufacturing a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca for the country.
The month Indian regulators approved two vaccines – Covishield, which is produced by the institute and Covaxin, which is made by Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad.
It comes as:
- Oxford Covid vaccine team are developing a new jab for mutant strains
- The UK could get back to normality by May if vaccination rates double
- Vaccine passports required for holidays are likely to be “unavoidable”
- Storm Christoph has flooded a factory producing Oxford Covid vaccines
The company is also preparing to produce U.S vaccine Novavax Inc.
Staff were seen standing outside the building after they were evacuated.
Five fire engines rushed to the scene.
Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawala offered his condolences to the victims.
The country had sent 2million doses to Bangladesh and one million to Nepal, as well as having plans to offer 20million doss to neighbouring countries in South Asia.
In the UK, firefighters are battling to save a factory producing the Oxford Covid vaccine in North Wales from flooding caused by Storm Christoph.
Emergency services raced to Wrexham Industrial Estate last night to protect the jab – as 2,000 homes across England were evacuated following torrential rainfall overnight.
The plant has been tasked with making 300 million doses of the vaccine per year but it lies close to the River Dee, which was last night at its highest level ever recorded.
Pharmaceutical firm Wockhardt UK, which runs laboratories and factories on the estate, said it had experienced “mild flooding, resulting in excess water surrounding part of the buildings across site”.
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A spokeswoman added: “All necessary precautions were taken, meaning no disruption to manufacturing or inlet of water into buildings.
“The site is now secure and free from any further flood damage and operating as normal.”
