India: Massive fire at Tata’s iPhone plant halts production
CHENNAI – A fire broke out on Saturday at a major Tata Electronics plant in southern India that is responsible for making the components of Apple’s AAPL.O iPhone.
The incident halted production, and it is not yet clear how long the disruption would take. Meanwhile, the company, which is one of the major contract makers of iPhones in India, is investigating the cause of the fire.
“There has been an unfortunate incident of fire,” a Tata Electronics spokesperson said in a statement. “Our emergency protocols at the plant ensured that all employees are safe.”
The fire caused the collapse of a building at the plant, and no casualties were reported, a fire services official said.
According to Reuters, a source with direct knowledge of the incident said the blaze was chemical-related.
A second industry source said certain iPhone components were produced at the affected building. However, it remains unclear if a neighbouring building, where smartphone manufacturing was due to start by year-end, had also been affected.
On the other hand, Apple made no immediate comment on the incident.
