It is being reported today that an explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, south-west China has killed two and injured dozens of others. Foxconn is the manufacturer of many products but this particular building is said to be the assembly plant of the iPad 2.
In a statement to the Guardian Edmund Ding, a spokesman for Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai said: "I know there has been a fire and that the accident is now under control. What caused this is still under investigation. I have learned that some people were injured on site."
Website M.I.C Gadget has posted a number of first hand reports and videos.
“the explosion occurred in the A05, at 7 pm, the explosion caused many materials casted out from the building, and there are at least hundreds or more of workers inside the building. The whole building did not collapse yet, I do not know what is going on inside. Now there are more than 10 fire engines, 10 ambulances, many police cars.”
[Update] Foxconn has posted this official statement:
We can confirm that at approximately 7 pm on May 20, there was an explosion at our Chengdu campus. At this point, we can also confirm that there were two fatalities with injuries to 16 other employees. We are working with medical officials to provide treatment to the injured employees and we are working with government and law enforcement officials to contact the families of all employees affected by this tragedy.
The situation has been brought under control by the fire department and the cause of this explosion is being investigated by local police officials. Foxconn is cooperating fully with that investigation.
Production has been suspended at the site of the explosion until the completion of the investigation. The safety of our employees is our highest priority and we will do whatever is required to determine and address the cause of this tragic accident.