Major fire ravages Biocon subsidiary complex in India
pharmafile | December 13, 2016 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | Biocon, Syngene
A subsidiary of Indian biopharmaceutical firm Biocon was gutted by a major fire at Electronic City, Bangalore on 12 December, ravaging laboratory facilities at the complex.
The fire broke out at around 7:45pm local time at Syngene, the contract research and manufacturing arm of Biocon, quickly engulfing several floors; more than eight fire tenders and around 100 fire rescuers fought to bring the situation under control for almost three hours. The few staff on duty were quickly rescued and were unharmed.
Biocon MD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said: “A fire broke out in one of the labs of Syngene, which is a research organisation. Luckily it was after office hours and nobody is hurt. However, by the time the fire was noticed (given that it was after office hours), it had begun spreading. We are yet to complete investigations as to what caused the fire.”
A possible chemical leak or short circuit have been given as possible reasons for the blaze, but no cause can be determined until further investigation has been carried out. After igniting, the fire spread throughout the complex rapidly due to large quantities of inflammable solvents, plastic and fibre-like mats.
“The fire broke out in what appears to be a storeroom behind the lab on the second floor. The fire soon spread to all of the first and second floors, gutting two labs in the process,” said H.S. Revanna, deputy inspector general of Police, Fire and Emergency Services, who led the operation.
Syngene released a statement once the crisis had been averted:
“This is to inform that there has been an incident of fire at the Syngene campus, Jigani Link road, which has been brought under control with the assistance of local authorities. Preliminary reports indicate no one was injured in the incident and there has been no loss of life. Syngene has taken all necessary measures to ensure safety of its employees.”
Matt Fellows
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