Mumbai, Jan 21 (PTI) BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday expressed grief over the death of five people in a fire in the premises of Pune-based vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII).

The Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly said he is relieved that no loss of Covishield, the vaccine against COVID-19 manufactured by SII, was caused in the blaze.

Fadnavis said, I am pained to know that five people lost their life in the Serum I nstitute of India fire incident. My deepest condolences to their families. Praying for speedy recovery of the injured ones.

The former chief minister further said, There is also some relief that COVID-19 vaccine produced by SII was not stored at the building that caught fire.

Five men died in the fire that broke out in a five- storeyed under-construction building in SII's Manjari premises, police said.

All were construction workers whose bodies were recovered by fire brigade personnel from the fifth floor, police said, adding nine others were evacuated from the spot.

Covishield vaccine production won't be hit due to the fire, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said.

The Manjari facility is where the Covishield vaccines used in the nationwide inoculation drive against COVID-19 are being manufactured.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)