On Monday, November 9, late in the evening, three contract workers went to inspect a tank in one of the most highly scrutinized factories of the Indian electronics industry. They never came back home.
Three contract workers died in a Tata Electronics factory making parts for Apple iPhones in Tamil Nadu, marking yet another tragic incident in Apple’s supply chain at its most critical non-Chinese manufacturing center.
The names and ages of the workers were not disclosed in the news reports that I have gone through.
It seems that the cause of their death was toxic gas. According to the district official Dinesh Kumar, three people lost their lives while carrying out maintenance work in the effluent treatment plant in the Hosur unit where the three inhaled gas while examining an external nano-filtration tank.
The effluent treatment plant in question was run by Nalco Water, which is a subsidiary of the Ecolab company based in the United States. This information is important since it brings into question the responsibility for the safety of the three individuals.
The initial sources used other terms. While Reuters called it a "water tank," some reported asphyxiation.
There are conflicting reports about how soon the rescuers came. The rescue team of the factory got hold of the three men and took them to an occupational health center where they received first aid.
After that, they were rushed to a private hospital, where the doctors pronounced them dead upon their arrival, reported The New Indian Express, citing Kumar.
The Tamil Nadu state government did not delay in reacting to the incident. The state's industries minister, Virudhai Magal Keerthana, stated that “The safety and dignity of all workers will have to remain paramount,” while promising a full investigation and due action.
According to Reuters, the matter will be investigated by Tata, Apple and the state government authorities. According to the media reports analyzed, there is no mention of any FIR, arrests or family compensation.
No response from Tata Electronics, Apple, and Nalco Water was available regarding the request sent by Reuters. There was no statement from any of the companies found in the reports examined. A statement could help address some general issues.
This place plays an important role in Apple’s vision of India. The electronics division of Tata handles about 40% of iPhone manufacturing in India, while Foxconn handles the remaining 60%. In India, around 25% of iPhones in the world are manufactured.
This is why the standards regarding safety have become a global matter. Apple is producing its products elsewhere because of diversification and safety standards are one of them.
The death toll is not the first incident to rock Hosur. A fire led to production disruption at the component factory in 2024, while state officials threatened to close the plant due to water pollution concerns this year before withdrawing the case.
At least ten people were treated at hospitals for injuries during the 2024 fire, while two people were admitted. In addition, Tata's iPhone factory has suffered from a ransomware attack in the last few months.
These previous events have been of a completely different kind.
Fatalities within tanks and chambers have a history in India. One such instance occurred a couple of years back when two laborers were found dead in a tank at the Exide Industries plant located in Hosur, after one had fallen into a deep septic tank and his fellow had attempted to rescue him, according to the Deccan Herald.
Only just last week, four workers were found dead in a waste chamber in a hotel in Ujjain.
A number of questions arise here. Had the air been checked before going in? Did the workers have breathing apparatuses? Whose was their training, and whom did they work under supervision? And what firm out of Tata, the contractor, and Nalco Water would be responsible for this?
This would become essential to determine when the case would move on to the legal domain. The reports studied do not give the answers.
