14 DAY TRIAL // A 12-year-old boy from China lost his right eye and the right index finger after his phone exploded while charging, leaving him all covered in blood on the floor.
Meng Jisu was charging the phone at this home in Guangxi province, China when he leaned over the charger to reach the device. The explosion blew off his right index finger on the spot, leaving him unconscious on the floor until his older sister found him and called an ambulance.
The boy was then rushed to the hospital where doctors tried to remove the shrapnel from his face and the chest during a five-hour surgery. Because sharp pieces of plastic were sent directly into his right eye, the 12-year-old was left partially blinded.
The finger could not be reattached to the boy’s right hand because it wasn’t brought to the hospital, but even if it was, doctors said it would’ve been impossible to do it due to the severe injuries.
Phone purchased two years ago
As for the device that suffered the explosion and caused these injuries, it’s not a smartphone, but a typical dumb phone made in China. It’s called Hua Tang VT-V59, and by the looks of it, the explosion caused limited damage given the injuries that the boy suffered.
Photos that were published by Chinese media (embedded in the article – no other pictures are included given their distressful nature) show the device with the screen shattered into pieces, but the aftermath certainly doesn’t seem to be as dramatic as you’d expect it to be when hearing that a 12-year-old boy lost a finger and an eye.
The phone was purchased two years ago, according to the mother of the boy, but no other specifics were provided. The parent company that launched it hasn’t offered a statement just yet.
The doctors say the 12-year-old will be able to regain some 98% functions of his right hand after they managed to carry out a skin graft and reattach the vessels of the rest of the fingers.
