CHENNAI, India, Sept 28 (Reuters) - A fire at a major

Tata Electronics plant making Apple ( AAPL ) iPhones in southern

India halted production on Saturday, as fire-fighting

authorities tried to control the blaze, two people with

knowledge of the situation said.

Tata Electronics said in a statement it was investigating

the cause of the fire and would take necessary steps to

safeguard the interests of its employees and other stakeholders.

"There has been an unfortunate incident of fire at our plant

in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Our emergency protocols at the plant

ensured that all our employees are safe," a Tata Electronics

spokesperson said in a statement.

Production was halted and employees were sent home for the

day as a part of the factory was on fire, said a person with

direct knowledge of the incident, calling the blaze

"chemical-related".

The fire caused a building at the plant to collapse,

although there were no reported casualties, a fire services

official said.

It will take time to control the fire, which began in the

morning in an area used to store chemicals, the fire official

told Reuters on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised

to speak to the media.

The district's senior industrial safety official, J.

Saravanan, said the authorities were investigating the cause of

the fire. "We can't go inside now as the pathway is destroyed.

It will take one day for it to cool down," he told Reuters.

More than 10 fire and rescue vehicles were trying to control

the situation at the spot, the Hindu newspaper reported.