Office CCTV Catches Moment Smartphone Explodes in Woman’s Face

Mobile phone in a woman's hand LDProd/iStock

A woman was rushed to hospital after her phone exploded in her face as she picked it up to make a call in her office, in a moment captured on video.

The woman, named as 27-year-old Netia by Reuters, had plugged her phone in to charge at the government office in Pekanbaru, western Indonesia on Feb. 4.

The video shows that as she picks it up, the phone explodes in her hand, throwing flaming debris at her face and over her head.

She recoils, pushing her chair back and covering her face with her hands, as debris lands on the floor behind her, where it flames briefly, as other office workers get to their feet.

The woman leaves her seat and rushes over to a colleague who embraces her before she suddenly sinks to the floor and lies flat. According to media reports, she had fainted.

She was taken to Awal Bros Hospital, where she was treated for lacerations to her face.

Witnesses told local media that they were shocked by the loud bang of the explosion and by her shouts.

One witness said that the woman had started shouting when she found her hands covered in blood after putting them on her face, which had been cut by the pieces of the phone.

The phone was a  local vendor brand Aldo S9, according to local media Riau1.

Smartphone Death

Last year an 18-year-old girl died after her smartphone exploded while she was on a call in India.

Local media reports that Uma Oram, of Kheriakani in the eastern state of Odisha, was on the phone with a relative while her phone was charging on Friday, March 16, when the device exploded. The blast was so strong it caused severe burns to her chest, left hand, and right leg, reported Asian Age.

Oram was rushed to the hospital unconscious, where she was declared dead.

The girl’s brother, Durga Oram, told The New Indian Express that Uma wanted to talk to an unnamed relative after lunch. The battery was draining, so she plugged it in to recharge while talking.

In March last year, a 12-year-old boy was seriously injured after a cellphone suddenly exploded while it was being charged in China.

Chinese media reported that Meng Jisu lost his right index finger and became blind in his right eye due to the explosion, which occurred as the boy was reaching for the charging phone at his home in Guangxi Province, China, on Jan. 31.

The blast left Jisu bloodied and unconscious. He was immediately transported to a hospital, where it took doctors five hours in surgery to treat Jisu.

His phone was reportedly a 2-year-old Hua Tang VT-V59, a Chinese-made phone.

Cathy Zhang contributed to this report