GM looks for alternative supplies after fatal factory blast

General Motors said on Sunday that it had asked its main Chinese supplier to find an alternative source of components after an explosion ripped through a factory on Saturday, leaving 71 people killed as of late Sunday.

The accident at the Zhongrong Metal Products Co Ltd plant in Kunshan, East China's Jiangsu Province, also injured 186 people, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

According to Zhongrong's website, the factory made wheels that are supplied to GM and many other carmakers.

Distancing itself from Zhongrong, the Detroit automaker issued a statement saying it bought components from a company called "Dicastal" - which Zhongrong works with.

GM went on to say it had no direct dealings with Zhongrong, which it described as a "Tier-2" supplier.

Tier-1 component suppliers such as Dicastal are "required to source from Tier-2 suppliers who must meet both in-country environment and safety standards as well as quality standards," GM said.

The US automaker noted that Saturday's accident did not cause any immediate impact on its production because it has "sufficient inventory" of the parts, without specifying what the components were.

"We are working with our supplier to establish alternate processing capability," the statement said.

The GM statement said it was "too early to determine the cause of the explosion" as an official investigation was underway.

"We will closely monitor the investigation and, if asked, will provide any resources and information that can assist in this matter," GM said.

The blast was reported to have taken place in a workshop that polishes wheel hubs.

A preliminary investigation suggested that it was triggered when a flame was lit in a dust-filled room, the local government said on Saturday.

The local authority describes the incident as a serious safety breach.

Xinhua reported that police took at least two company representatives into custody.

GM described Dicastal as one of its "global suppliers," but did not provide any further information on the company.

Asked if that Dicastal was CITIC Dicastal Wheel Manufacturing Co Ltd, a producer of aluminum alloy wheels headquartered in North China's Hebei Province and a unit of Beijing-based CITIC Group, a GM spokeswoman in Shanghai said she did not have any information.

She also said she had no information on whether GM conducts safety inspections of production facilities run by lower-tier suppliers with which they do not do business with directly.