Three workers die at Tata plant in India — Channel NewsAsia

Three contract workers died at the Tata Electronics plant in the city of Hosur, Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The facility produces iPhone components for Apple. As Channel NewsAsia reports, the tragedy occurred late in the evening of November 9.

Work at a treatment facility

According to district official Dinesh Kumar, the workers were carrying out maintenance on a wastewater treatment unit. They died after inhaling gas while inspecting an external nanofiltration tank.

The unit was operated by Nalco Water, which is part of the U.S.-based Ecolab. Tata Electronics, Apple and Nalco Water did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Investigation and production

The circumstances of the deaths will be investigated by Apple, Tata and the Tamil Nadu state authorities, state officials and two industry sources familiar with the matter said. Tamil Nadu Industries Minister Virudhai Magal Kirthana said the incident would be thoroughly investigated, and further action would be determined based on the results of the inspection.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

According to two industry sources, the incident did not affect production, as the facility was not operating this week due to the Hindu festival of Deepavali.

iPhone production in India

The electronics division of Tata Group accounts for around 40% of iPhone assembly in India, with Foxconn producing the rest. India has become one of Apple’s key manufacturing hubs outside China and produces about a quarter of all iPhones worldwide.

The Tata plant in Hosur has faced other problems before: a fire in 2024 halted output at the components facility. This year, state authorities also warned of a possible shutdown over allegations of groundwater pollution, but the matter was later dropped.