Xinhua Net reports that a 23-year-old woman from northwest China was killed by an electric shock after answering her iPhone 5 while it was charging. Apple is investigating the case.
The young girl, Ma Ailun, was a stewardess with China’s Southern Airlines and was expecting to be married on August 8th. Unfortunately, according to her sister who spread the news on Sina Weibo, she was electrocuted while answering a phone call on her iPhone 5 last week on July 11.
The victim’s older sister was asking for an explanation from Apple on the Chinese social media on Sunday. According to information obtained by Reuters, Apple has issued a statement saying the company felt deeply sorry for the unfortunate accident and expressed condolences to the victim and her family.
“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,” Apple said in an e-mail.
It is yet unknown whether the victim was using a certified iPhone charger or not. It is known that uncertified chargers can turn handsets into “pocket grenades” capable of causing explosions or electric shock.
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i’m no electrician but can a wire the size of a hair electrocute a person before it disintegrates first?
Yeah, there normally isn’t enough current going through the charger to kill someone. Unless it arched from the outlet. Blame it on the screwy substandard electrical system, because I don’t care how fucked up the charger was there is no way she should of been electrocuted, I mean you can drop a phone in the bath tub with water in it and you should survive. That is why you need a hair dryer or toaster for that to work, you needs lots of power, like on old tube TVs. You need lots of current I should say.
ya, and to top it off, the phone charges in DC. there is no ac running into the phone. she would need to be grounded, have the dc run through her heart… not a clue, anyways haha
You only need approx. 10ma of current to stop a heart. Overseas the wall outlets are 220 ish, not the 110 we are used to in Canada/U.S.
However the transformer module should be transforming/rectifying the power down to a much lower DC voltage that should be safe. Obviously something shorted and the full outlet voltage made it past the outlet module.
First thing I thought of was this http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_cell_phone_electrocuted.htm
tell that also to the kid who got to a hospital because of iphone charger a week ago in finland. he got electric shock and burnt his arm.
the link
http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1288582526949.html
TUKES, a finnish authority of safety, is investigating it.