According to the office of the Krishnagiri district collector, the three men were part of a four-person maintenance crew. B Akmal was the first to collapse, after trying to look inside the filtration tank. M Sarathikumar went to check on him and also collapsed. P Kaveri then went in after the two men. The fourth worker called for help. All three were pulled out and taken to a private hospital in Hosur, where they were pronounced dead.
A top official attached to the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health told The Indian Express that the crew lacked proper safety measures for the work. “A unit of the American company Ecolab, Nalco Water, operated the treatment plant and had engaged another company through a subcontract that employed the men. The bodies were taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Krishnagiri for post-mortem examinations. We are conducting a detailed inquiry today,” the official said.
The district administration opened an inquiry. Apple and Tata have also ordered an investigation. The factory was already closed for Deepavali when the accident happened.
A fire in a chemical storage area in September 2024 had halted component production at the Hosur site. At the time, the plant was the only Indian supplier of iPhone back panels to both Foxconn and Tata’s own assembly operations. This year, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), the pollution regulator, had intervened over allegations that wastewater had contaminated nearby farm wells. Tata said it had addressed the regulator’s questions and that the board had dropped further action.
