More tragedy for Foxconn workers, as an explosion at a Chengdu plant killed two workers and injured at least ten. From the Guardian:
A spokesman for the company said people had been injured in a fire at the plant but that it had no details. The company is best-known for producing iPhones and iPads for Apple, but other clients include Nokia, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and Dell. Employing up to 900,000 people in all, Foxconn has repeatedly been the subject of controversy over working conditions at its vast plants. The affected one is believed to employ up to 100,000 people.
A report on Chinese news portal Sina said the area had been sealed off after a blast ripped through the plant at around the time workers changed shifts. Police in Gaoxin district said they were called to the scene at 7.18pm and that the explosion seemed to have been caused by materials within the factory. A report on the China National Radio website said two were killed and 16 injured, three seriously.
Edmund Ding, a spokesman for Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai, told the Guardian: “I know there has been a fire and that the accident is now under control. What caused this is still under investigation. I have learned that some people were injured on site.”
Read more about Foxconn, one of the largest technology manufacturers in the world and the scene of a spate of worker suicides last year.
