UN Chief Condoles Lives Lost in Serum Institute Fire Incident

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has offered his condolences to the families of the five people killed in a fire at the Serum Institute of India (SII) campus in Pune and hoped the incident would be investigated, according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Asked at his daily briefing about the blaze, Dujarric said, "We, obviously, are saddened by the loss of life and send our condolences to the families impacted, and we hope the fire is fully investigated."

The fire did not however affect the units making the Covid-19 vaccine, according to SII CEO Adar Poonawalla.

It was not at the facilities making the Covid-19 vaccine but at an under-construction building.

SII makes the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University under the brand name Covishield. The first doses of the vaccine have been released in India for the massive vaccination programme that has begun.

Besides India, several countries around the world depend on SII vaccines.