Breaking: Foxconn Chengdu Manufacture Plant Explosion! (videos)

Herman Lai, May 20, 2011 10:22 AM, 36,720 views, 4 Comments »,

At around 19:00 in China, Foxconn Chengdu manufacture plant got an explosion, we are not sure actually what cause the explosion and how many casualties had resulted. At the scene, there are currently more than 10 fire engines, ambulances and 10 police cars had arrived on the scene. And, the explosion is happened in an operating room inside Foxconn. Video of the scene after the break.

UPDATE: The explosion happened in A5 building (A05), and we heard that building is also the production line of iPad 2! 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor were damaged as well. The explosion is likely to be caused by super-light dust.

UPDATE 2: We got a video of the latest scene. The situation is chaos, like a mess.

UPDATE 3: This explosion had already caused 6 men and 1 woman wounded.

UPDATE 4: Two people were killed and 16 injured, 3 seriously injured. Police’s investigation suggested the cause of explosion ruled out human factors.

UPDATE 5: Photos outside the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital

UPDATE 6: We are glad to hear the fire got put out and some minor wounded had already packed their bags and go home!

UPDATE 7: Foxconn CEO Terry Gou is now heading to Chengdu plant!

UPDATE 8: Apple has provided a statement, and more photos.

UPDATE 9: The cause of the explosion is due to a special dust, which is flammable. And someone was smoking.

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Underage Workers Assemble Apple Products in Foxconn

Chris Chang, Feb 15, 2011 1:39 PM, 2,366 views, 1 Comment »,

The whole world is now watching Apple’s greatest supplier Foxconn, after the tragic suicides happened in 2010. Foxconn has really done an impressive job on meeting the deadlines for manufacturing the massive amount of Apple’s iPhones, iPods, iPads, and MacBooks. However, they could not control the workers’ stress and recently, child labour becomes another problem in Foxconn and other Chinese factories.

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New Suicide From Foxconn, Worker Jumped Because Of Insult

Chris Chang, Jan 13, 2011 9:43 PM, 3,316 views, 2 Comments »,

Oh my god. 2011 has arrived and the Foxconn suicide cluster still continues. Today’s latest news is from the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen. A female engineer, Wang Ling, jumped from her brother’s 10th-floor flat, not from the dormitory in the factory. Due to her mental state problems, Foxconn could not let her carry on working as an engineer. This is the 15th suicide so far, and the first Foxconn suicide in 2011.

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Fire Broken Out At Foxconn Hostel (with video!)

Chris Chang, Nov 19, 2010 1:28 PM, 621 views, 1 Comment »,

Oh my god. A big fire has broken out in a hostel at Foxconn’s Shenzhen plant today morning. Although it’s not as serious as the deadly Shanghai high-rise fire, we are still worried about it. We could not find any further details on the incident, and it looks like the Chinese government has restricted the local media to report this news. We do not know if there’s anyone got injured. Would this fire affect the production of iPhone 4? Or is this fire related to the protest at Foxconn factory?

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Foxconn Suicide Returns, Another Foxconn Employee Falls to Death (updated with video!)

Chris Chang, Nov 5, 2010 7:54 AM, 1,048 views, 1 Comment »,

Oh my god. Today morning, another employee of Foxconn leapt to his/her death. This happened at one of Foxconn’s manufacturing facilities in the southern Chinese manufacturing hub of Shenzhen. The death was confirmed by the municipal government. No further information was immediately available. We are sad, and one thing comes to our mind, where are the safety nets? Updated.

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Foxconn Workers Officially Receive 66 Percent Salary Increase

Chris Chang, Oct 2, 2010 3:55 AM, 1,805 views, 2 Comments »,

Starting from today onwards, Foxconn assembly workers get a pay rise of about 66 per cent to bring salaries to 2,000 yuan (about $299) per month. Foxconn had previously promised that they are offering a second time pay rise to their production line workers in Shenzhen, as early as October 1st. So, the salary increase would benefit about 85 percent of workers at the Shenzhen factory, which employed more than 400,000 people. Here’s a Foxconn worker telling us how happy is he.

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Big party for Foxconn workers, end of suicide ? (with video!)

Star Chang, Aug 19, 2010 12:15 PM, 1,187 views, Got something to say ?,

Foxconn’s workers attend a rally held by the company at its Shenzhen factory, more than 20,000 workers took part in the rally, titled “Love Your Life, Love Your Family”. The purpose for the activity is to strengthen the cohesion among workers and encourage them to treasure life. Foxconn also announced the end of its “emergency status” to prevent the suicide attempts of its employees at their China factories. The company also has decided to remove the safety nets which has surrounded the factory building to prevent workers from jumping down. Look out for more interesting photos and videos after the break.

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Foxconn new recruitment, applicants have to take psychological tests

Star Chang, Aug 16, 2010 3:15 PM, 945 views, Got something to say ?,

Well, looks like Foxconn is choosing very carefully who are the right employees to work for them. Foxconn is having an extensive recruitment right now. Foxconn has build a new factory plant in Zhengzhou, the capital of central China’s Henan province. The new plant is to employ 300,000 people in the long run, about 100,000 people are to be recruited at the moment. Foxconn is requiring applicants to undertake psychological evaluations and stress tests. The test comprises 70 questions, including evaluations of the effects of sleep deprivation, depression and loneliness.

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Foxconn suicide jump return — part II

Star Chang, Aug 5, 2010 1:50 AM, 5,317 views, Got something to say ?,

Part I happened on July 20. And now, another employee attempt to commit suicide at Foxconn. Luckily, it’s unsuccessful, thanks for the safety net which has surrounded the building. China Business News reporter has confirmed the suicide’s news, the incident take place at Kunshan, JiangSu Province, not in Shenzhen. A female worker jumped down from the building early this morning, caught by the safety net, in the end she’s slightly injured. The cause of the suicide is being investigated, no comments from the police and authorities at the moment, while the Chinese mainstream media keeping the news at low key. We think that the suicide cluster from Foxconn will just keep going and going, non-stop … oh please, we really have enough for this. Click in for the Chinese video news report, sorry, no English subtitle.

UPDATE: The worker has died, the safety net doesn’t work …

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Foxconn suicide jump return ?

Star Chang, Jul 20, 2010 1:45 PM, 251 views, Got something to say ?,

A worker at an affiliate of Foxconn died Tuesday after falling from a dorm building. It was unclear whether the latest death was also a suicide. The China Xinhua news agency said the 18-year-old fell from the sixth floor of a building belonging to Chimei Innolux Corp, which is located at Foshan city. (Chimei Innolux Corp is Taiwan’s largest LCD maker, a unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, which also controls Foxconn International Holdings, info here) Xinhua said the local government and police had confirmed the death and a manager at Foxconn in Shenzhen, which is not far from Foshan, also verified the information. The cause of death is being investigated. Click in for the Chinese TV news report (sorry, no English subtitle). We will update the story when we get more info. [YahooNews via Xinhua, iFeng]

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