Published : 10 Nov 2026, 11:34 AM
Updated : 10 Nov 2026, 11:34 AM
Three contract workers died in India's southern Tamil Nadu state after inhaling gas at a Tata Electronics factory that makes parts for Apple iPhones, a district official said, triggering investigations by the companies and the state government of Tamil Nadu.
The deaths are the latest incident to affect Apple's iPhone supply chain in India, where Tata accounts for roughly 40 percent of iPhone assembly and Foxconn makes up the rest.
The three died on Monday, during maintenance work on an effluent treatment plant at the facility located in Hosur in Tamil Nadu, two sources with direct knowledge said.
There has been no impact on production as the facility was closed for the Hindu festival of Deepavali this week, the sources added.
The effluent treatment plant was operated by Nalco Water, an Ecolab company, district official Dinesh Kumar said, adding that the deaths occurred when the workers inhaled gas while inspecting an external nano-filtration tank.
Tamil Nadu authorities are probing the incident, Kumar said. Tata and Apple will also investigate the deaths, the sources said.
Tata Electronics and Nalco Water did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
"The safety and dignity of every worker must remain paramount. This tragic incident will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings," Tamil Nadu's industries minister said in a post on X.
Tata's Hosur site has faced repeated setbacks: a fire halted production at the components plant in 2024, and state authorities warned of a shutdown over alleged groundwater contamination this year before dropping the matter.
Separately, a ransomware breach at an adjacent iPhone plant, located in the same compound, leaked documents linked to Apple's then-unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, Reuters has reported.
