Tata Electronics to partially resume work at fire-hit iPhone plant

Tata Electronics said on Thursday it will restart some of its operations at the fire-hit plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which makes Apple iPhone components.

A fire broke out in one of the six units at the plant in the early hours of Saturday. Fire and local government officials told Reuters that the incident occurred at an area where chemicals were stored.

"We plan to restart work in many areas of the facility today. And as we work toward resuming full operations, all our team members will continue to receive full pay," a company spokesperson said.

District authorities and the company are yet to ascertain the cause of the fire.

The Director of Industries for the state has given the company a go-ahead to start operations, district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said.

M Velu, a district fire officer said the value of damages is not yet known.

"We will know more only after the removal of the debris. The entire shed has collapsed with little visibility into the damages," Velu said.

The fire at the Tata Electronics plant is the latest to affect Apple suppliers in India, and comes when the U.S. firm is diversifying its supply chain beyond China.

The fire could hamper production ahead of the sales surge during the festive season, an industry watcher and a source told Reuters earlier this week.