Chennai: Three employees of the Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) manufacturing unit in Hosur that makes components for Apple iPhones among others were hospitalised on Saturday after a major fire broke out at the facility, disrupting production.
The three, who complained of breathlessness, are receiving treatment at a private hospital in Hosur, located just outside Bengaluru. No injury or casualty was reported.
As many as 523 people were working inside the campus when the fire broke out at about 5.30 am on Saturday and all of them have been traced, a source aware of the developments told DH.
“Six blocks were affected of which one block was completely damaged. Since thick fumes are still coming out of the facility despite the fire having been put off, there is no way anyone can enter the building,” the source added. Financial damage will be assessed only when the management gets access to the facility after authorities declare it a safe zone for people to enter.
Production at the TEPL facility, built in 2021 and employs about 20,000 people of which 15,000 are women, has been completely halted with no clarity on resumption.
Another source said the fire is believed to have emanated from a chemical godown and spread to adjacent buildings at the factory, which makes enclosures for high-end Apple iPhones, and other components for smartphones.
TEPL is building another facility within the same campus to assemble iPhones, making it the first Indian company to do so. The home-grown company had in January pledged over Rs 10,000 crore for expansion of the Hosur plant and to build the exclusive facility for Apple Inc.
About ten fire tenders from Krishnagiri and near-by Dharmapuri districts fought for several hours on Saturday to douse the fire. Krishnagiri District Collector K M Sarayu told DH that since chemicals were involved, thick fumes are still emanating out of the factory.
“Three people were hospitalised and their condition is stable. We met them and they are doing fine. We also interacted with people who were inside the factory when the incident took place. The situation is under control,” the district collector added. She also said the district administration has deployed over 30 medical teams to provide necessary treatment to the employees who were evacuated from the factory.
TEPL said in a statement that emergency protocols at the plant ensured that all its employees were safe. “The cause of the fire is under investigation and we will take necessary actions to safeguard the interest of our employees and other stakeholders,” the statement added. Apple didn't react to the incident.
The incident at TEPL comes a year after another Apple supplier Pegatron’s manufacturing facility near Chennai reported a fire accident, halting production.
Tata Electronics is the first Indian contract manufacturer of Apple and the third to assemble iPhones in Tamil Nadu, which is already home to Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron.
Tatas were allotted 500 acres in the GMR Krishnagiri Special Investment Region, a joint venture of GMR and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO), in Uddanapalli near Hosur in 2020 for building an electronics ecosystem.