Nokia production line death sparks Indian investigation

News of an employee death at a Nokia manufacturing facility in India has broken, with a 22 year old assembly line worker killed at the company's Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai on October 31. Full details on the incident are unknown – according to the statement Nokia gave us, which you can read after the cut, an investigation is still ongoing with the local authorities – but there are unconfirmed reports that the female employee was trapped while repairing a machine that loads sheet metal onto a magazine rack.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident and we offer our condolences and deepest sympathies to the family of our colleague in India. As a mark of respect, we closed our facility in Chennai on November 1st and members of our senior management have met with the family of our colleague.

We are investigating this tragic incident thoroughly and we are also collaborating with local authorities in India with full transparency. While it would inappropriate and insensitive to the family of our colleague to comment on the details of this accident until the full facts are known, we can say that the details being reported by some online media and tabloid publications are simply untrue." Nokia statement

Speculation has already begun about the reaction of the plant management and the nature of the hardware the employee was using, though so far nothing has been conclusively discovered and reports on the incident are scant. Nokia has promised full disclosure on the incident, and we'll be keeping an eye on reports as more information breaks.