A tornado heavily damaged a major pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday. Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount east of Raleigh, but said in a company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.
Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings and large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, according to Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone. The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medications used in U.S. hospitals.
The National Weather Service said in a tweet that the damage was consistent with an EF3 tornado with wind speeds up to 150 mph. The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, where part of Rocky Mount is located, said on Facebook that they had reports of three people injured in the tornado, and that two of them had life-threatening injuries.
A preliminary report from neighboring Nash County said 13 people were injured and 89 structures were damaged.