Schoolboy suffers burns to his buttocks when the battery of Galaxy S2 phone explodes in his trouser pocket

A junior high-schooler in the southwestern city of Gwangju, South Korea suffered burns to his buttocks Wednesday when the battery of his smartphone exploded in his trouser pocket. The parents said the boy’s Samsung Galaxy S2 phone exploded in his trouser pocket as he was preparing for class at school on Wednesday afternoon. It was an extra battery that he had put in his rear pocket, which started smoking after what sounded like a thud. He suffered burns on his fingers and buttocks as he took the battery out of his pocket. According to school regulations that prohibit cell phone use during class, the boy had reportedly left his phone with the school authorities but kept the spare battery.

The parents said they bought the phone in downtown Gwangju in December last year. Samsung Electronics staff collected the burnt battery when the parents notified them. A Samsung spokesman said, since the explosion of the battery occurred when it was separated from the device, they are inspecting the battery in question with the manufacturer. It will take time to get to the bottom of this.