Foxconn Plant Explosion May Delay iPhone 5

A massive explosion and subsequent fire at a Foxconn plant in China has killed two workers and injured 16 others, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The explosion took place at the Hongfujin Precision Electronics Plant, which is located just west of Chengdu, in Sichuan province. No other injuries or damage to buildings was reported.

As Foxconn is the largest manufacturing partner of Apple and is currently producing the iPad 2 review and ramping up for production of Apple's next iPhone 5, investors are worried that the explosion could cause delays or worse. Reuters reports that shares of Apple stock, traded on the Nasdaq, were down over 1.5 percent to $335.22 at closing.

It is currently unknown what is actually in production at the plant. Foxconn International Holdings, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision and the largest contract manufacturer on the planet, owns and operates a large number of factories in China with a wide variety of high-tech electronics produced at each.

Edmund Ding, a spokesperson for Foxconn, emailed Bloomberg that "the fire was under control, and full cooperation had been given to investigators." Ding also pointed out that Foxconn had "halted production at the site of the explosion until the investigation is complete," but wouldn't comment on which products were affected.

Foxconn has been in the news quite a bit recently – including making headlines over the past year for worker suicides caused by the high levels of stress that come with working at the plants. The company has worked hard since then to improve both working conditions and its brand image – something that may suffer a minor setback due to these recent events.

Apple issued a brief comment through spokesperson Steve Dowling, stating "We are deeply saddened by the tragedy at the Foxconn plant in Chengdu and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are working closely with Foxconn to understand what caused this terrible event." He would not comment in regards to any possible disruptions in production of Apple products, including the iPad 2 or iPhone 5g.

One analyst, Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities, told Reuters that he is confident that the plant did produce iPads in Chengdu. He referred to the shifting of iPad production from Shenzhen to Chengdu recently as an indication that Apple may suffer some supply issues down the road due to this fire, however Apple has yet to confirm or deny this as fact.

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