Three contract workers died at Tata Electronics' plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, after inhaling suspected toxic gas while servicing a wastewater treatment tank on Monday evening, 9 November. The deaths were reported on Tuesday, 10 November, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The incident happened at about 5 to 5:10 pm at the effluent and wastewater treatment plant of the company's Marigold facility at Vanniyapuram near Uddanapalli in Hosur, Krishnagiri district. The workers were cleaning a nano-filtration tank when the incident took place.
The plant makes casings and back panels for Apple iPhones, according to the report. The facility is operated by Nalco Water, a unit of Ecolab, which had engaged a sub-contractor for the work, the report says.
The three workers who died have been named as B Akmal, 28, from Thinnur, M Sarathikumar, 25, from Belrampatti, and P Kaveri. One report put Kaveri's age at 31, while another gave it as 32, so her age is not stated as a settled fact here.
How the incident unfolded
A fourth worker survived the incident, and the account of what happened was pieced together from the survivor, according to the report. The suspected cause is toxic gas inhalation or asphyxiation inside the tank.
The exact cause of death is pending post-mortem examination. Until those findings are available, the cause remains suspected rather than confirmed, and the investigation will establish what gas was involved and how the workers were exposed.
The factory had been closed for Deepavali, and production was unaffected by the incident, according to the report. The deaths happened during maintenance work, not during production.
Krishnagiri Collector C Dinesh Kumar said proper safety measures had not been in place at the site, according to the report. The district administration and Rayakottai police are investigating the incident, and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board was to visit the site on Tuesday.
Response from the state and the companies
Tamil Nadu Industries Minister Virudhai Magal Keerthana condoled the deaths and assured an investigation, according to the report. The state government has promised that the circumstances of the deaths will be examined.
Apple and Tata are also examining the incident, the report says, and a team from Apple visited the facility after the deaths. Both companies are looking into what happened at a plant that forms part of Apple's supply chain in India.
The incident raises questions about safety procedures for contract workers carrying out maintenance in confined spaces such as tanks. Cleaning and servicing work in such spaces carries known risks from toxic gases, and safety rules require gas checks, ventilation and protective equipment before workers enter.
Whether those procedures were followed at the Hosur plant is now a matter for the investigation by the district administration, the police and the pollution control board. Their findings will determine what went wrong and who is responsible.
