2 dead, 16 injured after explosion in Foxconn factory in southwest China

[News_Editor]

2 dead, 16 injured after explosion in Foxconn factory in southwest China

2011-05-21 02:49:32 GMT+7 (ICT)

CHENGDU, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- An explosion on Friday killed two people and injured 16 more in a Foxconn factory in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

At about 7:00 p.m. local time, a blast occurred at a workshop in the Hongfujin Precision Electronics plant, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group. The compound is located in the provincial capital of Chengdu.

The 16 injured workers were transported to a local hospital. Three of them were reported in serious condition. A spokesman of Chengdu's government said that the cause of the blast is still under investigation.

Foxconn spokesman Qian Ding said that the explosion was accidental and was under control. He added that the incident took place in the polishing section of the factory and staff was evacuated due to the toxic smoke that emanated from the blast.

The Chengdu plant was inaugurated last October. It is used to manufacture laptop computers and Apple's iPad 2. Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contractor, invested $2 billion in the compound.

The Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology is the main manufacturing contractor of Apple and produces many items including the iPad 2. The company did not inform if the production of the demanded iPad will be disrupted.

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