A 15-year-old boy died in Villupuram in Tamil Nadu after his Samsung cellphone caught fire on Thursday, leaving him with severe burns.
The Times of India reported that the boy, along with his parents were from Bengaluru, and were on a holiday at their relatives’ place.
The report states that the boy was on the terrace speaking to someone on the phone, when it burst into flames. Even as he tried to throw the phone away, his clothes caught fire, leaving him with 40% to 50% burns.
The police were reported to be checking if the phone was a Galaxy Note model, which made headlines for similar reasons this year. They also stated that electromagnetic radiation from high tension power lines nearby could also be the reason.
The phone was almost a year old.
In September, Samsung, the world’s biggest mobile phone maker announced that it would stop selling its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and prepare replacement devices.
The announcement came two weeks after the phone’s launch, as several customers reported that the phone started catching fire.
On September 9, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had prohibited the use of the high-end smartphone on-board airplanes.
Source: The News Minute