2 Dead, 16 Injured as Massive Explosion Rocks iPad Production Line
2 Dead, 16 Injured as Massive Explosion Rocks iPad Production Line
Posted 05/20/2011 at 11:06am
| by Brad Chacos
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A massive explosion rocked the Foxconn's Chengdu manufacturing facility earlier this morning (about 7 P.M. their time). Reports say the explosion emanated from the A05 building, where Foxconn keeps the iPad 2 production line. 
In a statement to Gizmodo, Foxconn representatives have confirmed two deaths and 16 injuries from the incident, with three of the injuries reported as serious. Although the situation is now said to be under control, it was bedlam earlier, with over 10 ambulances and 10 fire engines rushed to the scene.
The production line will remain shut down as investigators determine the cause of the horrible accident. An initial police examination seems to have ruled out human error as the cause, at least at first glance.
While the death and destruction is, of course, the greatest tragedy, the explosion may also hold economic ramifications for Apple. The company was already having trouble keeping up with the demand for the iPad 2. The explosion and the resulting halt of production will probably increase the delay in new shipments.
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newegg911
May 22, 2011 at 11:22am
Although I admit I don't know much about most companies employees, I think we should boycott Foxconn until they start treating their workers like actual human beings. It's not because of this incident, they have a long history of abusing their workers.
Foxconn makes a lot of different products. Maybe someone can dig up a list of all the kinds of products they make. It might be difficult because they make a lot of things, but the only thing I think I own made by Foxconn is the clamp on my motherboard.
newegg911
May 22, 2011 at 11:17am
This sucks. As much as I love my gadgets, they are not worth the lives of people.
After all the nasty things I've heard about Foxconn I will try to advoid them. Even if I have to pay a few more bucks at least I can sleep at night. (After I learned that AMD has heavy investors possibly tied to terrorism and human rights abuses I stopped buying AMD.)
netmare
May 21, 2011 at 3:37am
Stay classy, Maximum PC readers… Even though I hate Apple products, I can't see myself pulling jokes when their workers die.
Brad Chacos
May 21, 2011 at 4:28pm
What sucks is, the conditions at Foxconn sound pretty horrible in general. Gizmodo's done several pieces on the working conditions at the company, and this article from Wired says workers aren't allowed to talk, or even sit -- and they're forced to write a letter of apology if they do. The Foxconn work staff has been plagued by suicides and they're routinely forced to work overtime above and beyond even what the Chinese government recommends -- and the Chinese government isn't exactly known for having a pro-worker stance.
Now, this. While Foxconn has more than doubled its employees' pay recently, if I worked there I'd be tempted to go work for one of the uber-successful KFC franchises that've been springing up all over China, seeing as how death sucks and all.
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