Fire at Tata Electronics Plant Disrupts iPhone Component Production

By Haripriya Suresh and Praveen Paramasivam

HOSUR, India (Reuters) – At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalised, after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics plant in southern India, which makes Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone components.

The incident 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 occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state, which makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which will in coming months produce complete iPhones.

The fire was contained to one building and has been fully extinguished, stated top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu. No decision has been made on when manufacturing can restart, she added.

“Fumes are still coming since it’s a chemical hazard. It will take time for the search and rescue team to go inside and do an assessment. We have to wait until tomorrow,” she remarked.

Sarayu noted that 523 workers were on shift when the fire broke out in the early morning and that all had been evacuated and accounted for.

Savitri, an eyewitness living nearby, noted she heard “loud sounds around 5:30 a.m. (midnight GMT) that sounded like crackers going off. After that, we just saw plumes of smoke from the building, and there was thick smoke until at least 10 in the morning.”

Emergency Protocols

Tata Electronics is one of the major contract makers of iPhones in India, along with Foxconn. The company stated 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 in charge of industrial safety, mentioned it was not yet possible to say when production would resume, as “we will need to go in to understand more, depending on the damage.”

He also stated that injuries were related to smoke inhalation but provided no further detail.

Production was halted and employees were sent home following the fire, according to a person with direct knowledge of the incident, who described the blaze as chemical-related.

A second industry source stated it was unclear if a neighbouring building, where smartphone manufacturing was set to start by year-end, had also been affected.

Since the facility is currently inaccessible, the source noted that an assessment of the damage from the fire would have to be conducted later.

Apple had no immediate comment on the incident.

The fire began in an area used to store chemicals, as disclosed by a fire official speaking on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to the media.

Last year, Apple supplier Foxlink halted production at its assembly facility in Andhra Pradesh after a massive fire caused part of the building to collapse.