Riots in Chinese factory follows Apple’s Iphone launch

2,000 men brawled in China at a factory where popular Iphone 5’s are manufactured...

Following a riot at the Chinese factory Foxconn Technology Group, where parts for Apple’s new Iphone 5 handset are made, armed police are reported to have attended the scene for hours with the plant being temporarily closed.

According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, it is understood that 40 people were injured and three were seriously harmed in the rampage that involved 2,000 men. Some reports differ as to when the incident took place, but according to The Indpendent, the fighting took place on Sunday night and was controlled by Monday morning.

The news comes following a successful weekend for technology giants Apple, and as reported by The Telegraph an estimated 5million Iphone 5 mobile devises have been sold – which is the largest number of sales for any debuting Apple product.

The northern China plant, which is owned by a Taiwanese company, has seen many conflicting ideas as to why the riots started. It is thought that it could have been caused by a dispute between a worker and a security guard, or even because of working conditions and pay.

A statement on behalf of Foxconn said the incident began due a ‘personal dispute’.

It is understood that Foxconn employs 1.3million workers worldwide with the majority of these being based in China. The company faced criticisms over working conditions around two years ago previous to this event.