Blast forces China iPad2 plant suspension

BEIJING, May 24 (UPI) -- Foxconn announced it had suspended production at a southwest China plant where Apple's iPad2 is made, following an explosion that killed three workers.

The weekend explosion at the plant in Chengdu city in Sichuan province injured more than a dozen others.

A company spokesman said the situation was under control and that the cause of the explosion was being investigated, the BBC reported.

"All operations at the affected workshop remain suspended and production at all other workshops that carry out similar processing functions have also been halted pending the results of the investigation," the BBC reported, quoting a statement e-mailed by the company.

PCMag.com quoted Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, an advocacy group, as saying in a blog post the explosion was the result of alleged management negligence in maintaining work safety at the factory.