Pune: Fire breaks out in Serum Institute, 3 evacuated

Three persons were evacuated from abuilding in the Serum Institute of India's Manjari premiseshere after a fire broke out there on Thursday, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Namrata Patil told PTIthe fire broke out at 2.45 pm on the fourth and fifth floor ofthe SEZ 3 building in the Serum Institute premises.

''As per the primary information, three people havebeen evacuated,'' she said.

Viral visuals from the site showed smoke billowing outfrom the facility.

''The fire broke in a building in the premises. We havesent water tenders to the spot,'' a fire brigade official said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, theofficial said.

The Manjari facility is where the Covishield vaccine,used in the nationwide inoculation drive against thecoronavirus pandemic, is made.

The fire official did not comment on reports thatCovishield is not manufactured in the building where the firebroke out.