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Smartphone explodes, kills Teenager

Published

8 years ago

March 20, 2018

Olu Emmanuel

A teenager, identified as Uma Oram, has died after her phone exploded as she was talking to a relative in India.

The 18-year-old’s phone is said to have suddenly exploded as she plugged it in to charge during the conversation.

Uma, who was knocked unconscious and suffered injuries to her hand, leg and chest, was taken to a local hospital, where she died. Her brother Durga Prasad Oram said: ‘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 told reporters in India that the phone was a Nokia 3310 – though it appears to instead bear a resemblance to a Nokia 5233. However, the manufacturer said the phone in question was not one of their devices.

A spokesperson for Nokia said: ‘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.’

Police have visited the home to gather evidence, and Uma’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.