Blast forces China iPad2 plant suspension

Published: May 24, 2011 at 9:51 AM

BEIJING, May 24 (UPI) -- Foxconn announced it had suspended production at a southwest China plant where Apple's iPad2 is made, following an explosion that killed three workers.

The weekend explosion at the plant in Chengdu city in Sichuan province injured more than a dozen others.

A company spokesman said the situation was under control and that the cause of the explosion was being investigated, the BBC reported.

"All operations at the affected workshop remain suspended and production at all other workshops that carry out similar processing functions have also been halted pending the results of the investigation," the BBC reported, quoting a statement e-mailed by the company.

PCMag.com quoted Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, an advocacy group, as saying in a blog post the explosion was the result of alleged management negligence in maintaining work safety at the factory.

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Third death confirmed in Foxconn plant linked to iPad2

23-May-11, 2:03 PM | Reuters

NEW YORK - Foxconn Technology Co Ltd on Sunday confirmed that a third person has died following a large explosion at a plant in southwestern China on Friday that local media have linked to production of Apple's iPad 2.

The Taiwanese company, Apple Inc's main contract manufacturer for gadgets from the popular tablet to the iPhone, operates the plant in Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan province.

A task force led by government officials and law enforcement said preliminary findings point to an explosion of combustible dust in a duct at a polishing workshop at the plant, Foxconn said.

The company also said that all operations at that workshop remain suspended and production at all workshops doing similar work is also suspended.

All other production operations at its facilities in China are running as usual, it added.

An Apple spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

In addition to the three deaths, 15 employees were hurt. Of those six, have been treated and released from hospital, Foxconn said.

Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer, is an affiliate of Taiwan's Hon Hai.

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