Four of a family hurt as mobile phone explodes while charging, causes fire

Four of a family hurt as mobile phone explodes while charging, causes fireFour of a family hurt as mobile phone explodes while charging, causes fireShrutika Sukhi and Pradeep Gupta Four members of a family from Shahapur suffered burns in a fire that broke out in their house after a cellphone exploded early on Friday. | TNN | Dec 29, 2018, 12:30PM IST

Thane: Four members of a family from Shahapur suffered burns in a fire that broke out in their house after a cellphone exploded early on Friday. The phone was being charged. Rajendra Shinde (43), his wife Roshni (38), daughter Rachana (13) and son Abhishek (10) have been admitted to Thane Civil Hospital.

Doctors said the parents have suffered severe injuries while the children are being treated for minor burns. “Rajendra has suffered 32% burns on his palms, legs and face while Roshini has 26% burns on her right leg and face,” said Dr Kailash Pawar, civil surgeon at the hospital.

The Shahapur police said that the Shinde family stays on the ground floor of Pratiksha apartment in Kasarali area of Shahapur taluka, Thane district. Rajendra said that he had bought the phone two months ago. “I was sleeping on a bed, while my wife and three children were sleeping on a mattress on the floor. The phone was near a window. I was about to unplug it when it exploded,” said Rajendra, who works as a guard at a private company at Mulund.

Due to the explosion, the curtains and bedsheets caught fire. One of Rajendra’s children escaped without injuries. The family was rushed to a nearby government hospital by neighbours and was later shifted to Thane Civil Hospital.

Experts said there could be multiple reasons for the blast. “Normally, smartphone companies make sure adequate tests are done before sending a product in the market. Companies always keep in mind that a layman who has no knowledge about the technicalities of a phone. So, they make sure that adequate precautions are taken to avoid explosions, short-circuits or any untoward incidents. Phone blasts could occur due to various reasons and need not be only due to overcharging. In fact, smartphones cut off current supply on their own once batteries are charged,” said Nitin Patel, a tech expert from Thane.

Patel further added, “Some of the reasons for a cellphone explosion could be that a battery capsule is punctured, the processor is not functioning properly and unable to cool down, etc. Also, if there is any manufacturing fault in a phone, then all the phones in that particular batch will face the same problem and no company makes a single phone at a time.”