HOSUR: At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalised, after a major fire Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu which makes Apple iPhone components. The incident in Hosur is the latest to affect Apple’s iPhone supply chain just as the company is looking to diversify beyond China and sees India as a key growth market.It is also the latest in a string of incidents to affect Apple suppliers in India over the last few years.
The fire broke out near another building inside the Tata complex which will, in coming months, turn out complete iPhones. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished, top district administrative official K M Sarayu said, adding no decision has been made on when manufacturing can restart.
Sarayu said that 523 workers were on shift when the fire broke out early morning and that all workers had been evacuated and accounted for.
Tata Electronics is one of the major contract makers of iPhones in India, along with Foxconn. The company said it was investigating the cause of the fire and would take necessary steps to safeguard employees and other stakeholders. “Our emergency protocols at the plant ensured that all employees are safe,” a Tata Electronics spokesperson said.
J Saravanan, a senior district official charged with handling industrial safety, said the injuries were all related to smoke inhalation.
Production was halted and employees sent home for the day following the fire, a person with direct knowledge of the incident said, describing the blaze as chemical-related.
Apple made no immediate comment on the incident.
The fire began in an area used to store chemicals, a fire official said. Last year, Apple supplier Foxlink halted production at its assembly facility in Andhra Pradesh after a massive fire led part of the building to collapse.