Apple Factory Workers Riot At Foxconn

A fight at the Foxxconn factory in China that makes products for Apple spiraled into a full-scale riot on Sunday, forcing the shutdown of the factory:

A riot between workers at Foxconn's Taiyuan factory in northwest China has caused the company to temporarily shut down operations there for a day.

According to Reuters, a personal dispute between several Foxconn employees broke out into a riot late Sunday night.

The riot involved 2,000 workers and 40 were sent to hospital for medical attention, the report noted. Citing Foxconn, the report said the personal dispute in a privately-managed dormitory escalated at around 11 p.m. on Sunday.

However, local police brought the situation under control at around 3 a.m, the company said. "The cause of this dispute is under investigation by local authorities and we are working closely with them in this process, but it appears not to have been work-related," Foxconn said.

Local news site Sohu Finance said the riot involved Foxconn employees and security guards.

While the actual reason for the riot was unknown, rumors suggest it started because a security guard had beat up an employee which caused the dissatisfaction of other employees, the news site said. Chinese news site Sohu IT included photos of the riot from early morning which showed broken windows of the dormitory, campus supermarket and bus.

The news of the riot at Foxxconn comes on the heals of revelations that the factory used enforced student laborers to make the iPhone 5.