Rare footage of Apple iPad production plant explosion (VIDEO)

An explosion ripped through the Foxconn Chengdu plant in China, the factory where the Apple iPad 2 is made, killing three workers and injuring 15.

Preliminary findings suggested that the blast was caused by combustible dust in one of the facility's polishing workshops, the company said in a news release.

Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer, assembles many Apple products, including the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. Earlier last year Foxconn's factory base in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen was under severe scrutiny for a spate of suicides that were blamed on draconian working conditions.

The factory near Chengdu has temporarily suspended production while police investigate the explosion. However that will not hamper the supply of iPads.