CHENGALPATTU, INDIA – A factory fire at iPhone supplier Pegatron India was reportedly sparked by a short-circuit after an electrical switch was left on, following testing of the devices as they were being put together.

Reuters reported that the firm told the Taiwan stock exchange on Wednesday that "a small switchboard experienced an accident" at the factory on Sunday.

The fire at the the company's only factory in India, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, cost two straight days of lost production, with a spokesman for the company announcing on Wednesday that production had restarted.

In a statement on Monday, Pegatron said there were no injuries in the fire while adding that it did not have significant impact on finances and operations.

A senior Tamil Nadu government source, and another industry source briefed on the matter, detailed how Sunday's events unfolded. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is sensitive.

After putting together about 70 iPhone parts, workers at the Pegatron plant usually charge the device batteries up to a level of 50% at a charging rack, before installing software, the state government source said.

However, a switch on one such rack was not turned off after the end of Saturday's shifts, the source added, causing overheating and eventually a spark that set alight a foam sheet used to protect new mobile phones against scratches.

The next day was a holiday, with just a few maintenance workers on duty, but the "fire could have been nipped in the bud had there been more workers in the facility," the government source said.

One smartphone industry source with direct knowledge said the charging racks at the Pegatron plant are typically switched off after three Saturday shifts end early on Sundays.

Firemen scrambled to douse the flames in response to a call received at about 8:50 p.m. on Sunday, said fire official V. Veeraraghavan. Domestic TV images showed black smoke billowing from the facility.

The fire damaged some machines, said the government source and another source with direct knowledge, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The government official estimated six machines were damaged, but did not say what type they were.

About 8,000 people work on the assembly line at the Pegatron facility, which sprawls across 39,000 sq. m. (420,000 sq. ft.) in the city of Chengalpattu. It does not make the iPhone 15 but assembles older variants. The plant produces 5 million phones a year, which accounts for 10% of Apple's India production.

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