Exploding Cell Phone Battery Causes Another Death?
Another exploding cell phone battery is being blamed for a man's death, this time in South Korea, where a quarry worker was found dead at his place of work with a melted LG phone in his shirt pocket.
Kim Hoon, the doctor who examined the dead man's body, said that the man's ribs and spine were broken. According to Hoon's report, the explosion -- and resulting shrapnel -- damaged his heart and lungs, leading to his death.
LG, a South Korean company that manufactures phones in both Asia and the United States, hasn't said a word yet about which phone or battery model caused the explosion, but we're hoping they will let that information out soon in case recalls are necessary. It's entirely possible that the phone isn't at fault at all -- the worker was in a quarry, presumably chock-full of water and other minerals that could react with a cell phone battery. [In an update the AP posted after its initial story, scientists say that the injuries are too extreme to have been caused by a lone cell phone battery, but final results won't be known for 15 days).
That said, this death is very similar to another exploding-phone death we recently covered, in which a Chinese welder was killed when his battery exploded, broke through his ribcage, and sent phone and bone shrapnel into his heart.
We have covered a surprising number of cell phone-related deaths in the past year, though just how much a cell phone is actually involved in each case and how much has to do with pre-existing conditions or just plain human stupidity varies with each case. Here's a brief list of the most recent:
- Cell Phone Battery Explodes, Kills Chinese Worker: In this strikingly similar case, a Chinese man was found with a melted cell phone in his shirt pocket.
- Cell Phone Blamed for Train Death: Paying attention to your cell phone while crossing train tracks: not a good idea.
- Teen Struck by Train While Text Messaging: Once again, cell phones and trains do not mix.
- Kid Drowns in Lake After Trying to Rescue Sinking Cell Phone: Sometimes it's best to just let the cell phone go.
Gallery: LG Phones in the U.S.
From AOL News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Jay said 11:56AM on 11-29-2007
Can you Hear me NOW?
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Kent said 12:04PM on 11-29-2007
Lithium batteries have a history of explosions and recalls ... i.e. Sony batteries in Dell Computers burning or catching on fire. Need safer batteries with nickle based materials.
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Mai_Tai said 12:05PM on 11-29-2007
My husband's cellphone rings day and night with calls from his job. Yesterday, I said the phone would be the death of me. Maybe that wasn't so funny after all.
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Ray said 12:06PM on 11-29-2007
OMG, Jay....a Good One!
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Kevin said 12:35PM on 11-29-2007
What ever happened to just getting brain cancer ? Now we have to worry about being BLOWN UP !
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butterscot405702 said 1:03PM on 11-29-2007
Cell phones are a waste of time and energy. The only good thing that comes from them is that they keep the economy moving.
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Antney said 3:20PM on 4-15-2008
A waste of time and energy? You seem woefully under-educated when making a statement like that.
Bob said 2:13PM on 11-29-2007
Can they rig them to blow up when these crazy drivers are using them and running people off the road?
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Lynn said 2:24PM on 11-29-2007
It is about time that the risks associated with Cell Phones is getting some attention. Eight years ago my cell phone caught fire while it was up against my ear during a conversation. I immediately called AirTouch (now Verizon) in Irvine and they passed the buck to colleagues there and no one (or so they claimed) had ever heard of this sort of thing happening. Eight years have passed and I am sure many hundreds of these sorts of calls have since come into their organization. However, 'Big Brother' cannot admit that EMF's and High Tech can be deadly, otherwise there would be complete pandemonium around the world. Where is Al Gore on this issue... we are all living in a new Hot Zone!
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Go Figure! said 2:41PM on 11-29-2007
Seems like life's not so good with LG phone batteries. I hope they let people know soon which
batteries are defected and repaace them.
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scott said 2:50PM on 11-29-2007
There was the case of the Mossad killing a knowen terrorist in Lebanon.
The Mossad turned his uncle. The uncle delivered a cell phone to his nephew, who was the target terrorist.
Mossad called, and the terrorist answered. Seconds later the cell phone blew up.
Mossad had put small amounts of "C-4" explosives in the cell phone. Took half the terrorists head off..
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Susan said 2:56PM on 11-29-2007
Moral of the story: Keep your cell phone in your back pocket, where you can stand to get a little extra lard blown off... NOT over your heart.
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Walter Krenisky said 3:18PM on 11-29-2007
Lithium reacts violently with water care should be used handling and discarding batteries.
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JBJG24 said 3:56PM on 11-29-2007
could this be a new way of terrorists killing us one by one???
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Karl said 4:08PM on 11-29-2007
OMG!!!! I KNEW it! shouldn't someone DO something about this?? I heard that "W" used one of those things to trigger hurricaine Katrina! The heat from those things is melting the polar ice caps, and pretty soon we'll ALL be dead. I bet if everyone on this chat board got together we could file a class-action suit, move it to favorable jurisdiction, and PUT CELL PHONES OUT OF BUSINESS!!! I wonder who's responsible for the train/cell phone deaths? Could we eradicate handguns, too? Imagine if you got shot with a handgun, only the bullet hit your cellphone and saved your life, but you had a "Cingular" tatoo, could you sue the gun maker AND Cingular???
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coleen said 4:12PM on 11-29-2007
I used to have an lg phone and battery and I was having so many problems with it now i am glad that i got rid of it and went with a differnt phone But my heart goes out to the family and friends of the guy that died from this accident maybe they will quit useing cheap parts
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Massi said 4:15PM on 11-29-2007
LG phones suck anyways, so it's not surprising that they'd be killing people.
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NONNIE said 4:40PM on 11-29-2007
ALL I KNOW IS THAT WHEN I'M ON MY CELL PHONE FOR A LONG TIME.....IT GETS HOT HOT HOT.....I WONDER WHAT IT IS DOING TO MY "OLD BRAIN"....SEEMS THERE IS SOME DANGER IN USING THEM TOO OFTEN AND TOO LONG...........WE NEED TO DO MORE RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF CELL PHONES AND THEIR BATTERIES.
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I.M. Wreadkneck said 5:14PM on 11-29-2007
I don't know if the cell phone killed this guy, but independent research organizations say that 2500-3000 Americans are killed every year in motor vehicle accidents caused by drivers distracted by using cell phones, with over 100,000 injured. So, every year, cell phones kill as many on US highways as we lost on 9/11. My friend was hurt and her car probably totaled on Monday by a college kid driving while talking on a cell phone, and the police officer thought he was also probably TEXT MESSAGING.
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LORRAINE said 5:20PM on 11-29-2007
THAT'S WHY I DON'T KEEP THE PHONE NEXT TO MY BODY, I DO NOT TRUST THOSE THINGS.
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