Three contract workers killed while cleaning tanks at Tata iPhone plant

Three contract employees died at a Tata Electronics facility in Hosur, India, late Monday night. The site produces components for Apple iPhones in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Senior district official Dinesh Kumar told The New Indian Express that the men were assigned to clean an effluent treatment plant. He stated that the workers inhaled gas while inspecting an external nano-filtration tank. Paramedics transported the three men to a private hospital, where staff declared them dead on arrival.

Tata’s electronics division handles roughly 40 percent of iPhone assembly within India. Foxconn manufactures the remainder. Apple’s supply chain in the country now accounts for about 25 percent of global iPhone production.

The Hosur location has encountered multiple issues since operations began. A fire interrupted production at the components plant in 2024. This year, state authorities threatened to shut the facility down due to alleged groundwater contamination, though officials later dropped the matter.

Separate security concerns have also affected the complex. Reuters previously reported that a ransomware breach at an adjacent iPhone plant leaked documents related to Apple’s unreleased iPhone 18 Pro. The incident added to a list of challenges for the manufacturer.

Virudhai Magal Keerthana, the state minister for industries, posted on X that the deaths would be thoroughly investigated. She said appropriate action would follow the findings. Tata Group, which operates in sectors ranging from salt to aviation, continues its expansion in the region.