Sharad Pawar visits Serum Institute in Pune in wake of fire

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturdayvisited the city-based Serum Institute of India (SII), where amajor fire had broken out two days ago, killing five persons.

Sources in the SII said, Pawar visited the affectedbuilding around noon and took stock of the situation.

Serum's CEO, Adar Poonwalla, accompanied Pawar.

In a tweet, Pawar later said, ''Visited the SerumInstitute in Pune along with @adarpoonawalla and reviewed thepresent situation there, after the unfortunate fire incident.'' Five men died in the fire that broke out in a five-storey building in the SII's Manjaripremises on Thursday.

The Manjari facility is where Covishield, the SIIvaccine against COVID-19, which is being used in thenationwide inoculation drive against the infection, is made.

The building where fire broke out is one km from theCovishield vaccine manufacturing unit.

On Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerayhad paid a visit to the SII to inspect the fire site.

The SII on Friday said it has suffered losses to thetune of over Rs 1,000 crore due to the devastating fire.

Thackeray had said that a probe into the incident wason and whether the blaze was an accident or sabotage will beknown after it.

Pawar had said in Kolhapur that the fire was an''accident'' and that there was ''absolutely no doubt about theintegrity of scientists'' working with the Pune-based vaccinemajor.

Police and other agencies are investigating theincident.