iPhone 5 creates deadly electric shock

The story goes that Ma Ailun, a 23-year-old Chinese woman, was charging her iPhone 5 when she picked up an incoming call and received an electric shock that ultimately killed her. Ma Ailun was a former flight attendant for China Southern Airlines who was planning her August 8th wedding. Some sources say she answered the phone while taking a bath last Thursday.

The world got word of her tragic death, potentially caused by Apple, after a tweet-like message and blog post written by her sister who cleared a few things up. First, she stated that she was using the original charger that came with the smartphone, purchased in December at an Apple store. She told followers to refrain from using their iPhone while it is charging and she wishes to have a full explanation from Apple. Her message was reposted over 3,000 times and sparked an online debate on whether charging iPhones are safe. 

Ma Ailun’s sister's statement also triggered Apple to issue a statement saying, “We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family. We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter.” So far, police officials have not deemed the charging phone the cause of death.

Experts are suggesting that there is no reason to fear charging your iPhone considering smartphones only give out 3 to 5 volts and people feel an electric shock at 36 volts or above. Authorities are suggesting that the cause could be from various things. The weather in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where the incident took place, has been very hot for this time of year and could have caused overheating or the charger should have had a circuit issue like a broken wire that caused a shock. But another main cause could also be the buzz that she was in the bath when answering the phone.

This is not the first time Chinese officials have dealt with a smartphone death by electric shock. In 2010, a man from northeast China suffered an electric shock from a charging phone and was killed. However, in this case the phone was being charged by an unapproved charger. Meanwhile, last month in Abu Dhabi, Sarah Shurrub claimed her Samsung Galaxy S4 caught on fire while it was charging. She wrote a complaint to Samsung stating, “The phone was found burning, while charging. It’s only thanks to God that I woke up in the middle of the night and controlled the burning before it could cause damage to my home and family.” 

With almost 50 million iPhones selling last quarter, it’s easy to say that smartphones are flying off the shelves left and right. It’s important that Apple and Samsung and other cell phone companies keep their loyal customers safe and happy.

Story via TrustedReviews.com and BBC.co.uk.