Phone explodes when in use, causes fatal injuries

Mar 20, 2018 12:37 GMT  ·  By

A Nokia phone exploded and killed an 18-year-old girl, who was using it to talk to a relative and charge it simultaneously.

It all happened in India, and a report from British newspaper Metro reveals that the girl, named Uma Oram, was left unconscious following the blast. The explosion caused fatal injuries to her hand, leg, and chest. There's no word on any other injuries, though it'd make sense for the face and head to be the most affected by a phone bursting into flames.

Despite being rushed to the hospital, the girl was declared dead, though the exact cause will be determined after the autopsy.

Uma’s brother Durga Prasad Oram told the cited source that the phone in question was a Nokia 3310, though a picture showing the exploded device appears to be suggesting that it was, in fact, a Nokia 5233.

“As the battery of the mobile phone was draining out, she plugged it for charging while talking over it simultaneously. The cell phone was put on charging when she started talking to a relative. Its battery exploded suddenly. Before we could know what exactly happened, Uma fell unconscious. She was declared dead at the hospital,” he said.

Old Nokia phone

HMD Global, the new owner of the Nokia brand, says the device in question wasn’t manufactured under its tenure and is actually a model that was launched a long time when Nokia itself was in charge of building phones and existed as an independent company.

“While we have not been able to independently verify the facts of any of these reports, we can confirm that the mobile phone in question was not manufactured or sold by HMD Global, the new home of Nokia phones, set up in 2017 to create a new range of Nokia devices. As HMD Global, we are committed to producing high quality handsets which deliver a strong user experience and meet high customer expectations,” the firm was quoted as saying.

Specifics are missing for the time being, such as whether the girl was using a third-party cable and charger or if the device received any repairs since purchase.

The exploded Nokia phone

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Nokia 5233
The exploded Nokia phone
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