Explosion rocks Apple supplier factory

23 people hospitalised.

Workers at Apple supplier Pegatron Corp were injured on the weekend after an explosion tore through the company’s Shanghai factory.

Reuters reported that 61 suffered minor injuries while 23 were hospitalised, but there were no fatalities. Damage to machinery was minimal and is not expected to heavily impact operations.

The blast occurred in the company’s Songjiang industrial park plant in the afternoon of December 17. The Shanghai Government will launch an investigation in the coming days, until which time the company’s operations have been suspended.

Apple said it would conduct its own investigation of the incident. Spokesperson Carolyn Wu told Reuters the company was working closely with Pegatron to understand what caused the explosion.

Pegatron is understood to be a third-tier supplier to Apple, producing back panel parts for the iPad 2, meaning disruption to Apple’s supply chain should be minimal. 

The explosion is reminiscent of an incident at Apple supplier Foxconn’s factory in southern China earlier this year, which killed three people and injured 15 others. Foxconn has recently faced harsh criticism following a spate of worker suicides believed to be linked with its harsh working conditions. In 2010 there were some 13 deaths believed to have been suicides with several more reported suicide attempts.