SKorean’s death may be linked to cellphone battery explosion

SEOUL – South Korean police said yesterday that a man found dead at his workplace may have been killed by an exploding cellphone, but the manufacturer described the theory as very unlikely.

Fellow workers on Wednesday found the body of the 33-year-old man at a quarry in the central province of North Chungcheong where he worked as a shovel operator. “We presume the cellphone battery exploded.We’ve found nothing that might have caused the explosion apart from the phone, which was melted down badly,” a local police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.The officer said the phone was being sent for a scientific examination and an autopsy would be conducted.Professor Kim Hoon of Chungbuk National University, who examined the body, was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying he presumed the death was caused by an exploding phone battery.”He was injured in the left side of his chest.His ribs and spine were broken.The explosion punctured his heart and lungs, leading to his death,” Kim was quoted as saying.Another worker told Yonhap he was going up the hill to set a dynamite charge at the quarry when he found his workmate’s body.”He was bleeding from the nose,” the worker said.”He had a mobile phone with a melted battery in his left shirt pocket.His shirt had soot on it in the shape of the phone.”Judy Pae, a spokeswoman for LG Electronics, the phone manufacturer, said the cause of death was still being investigated.She said the batteries were given rigorous safety tests and it was “extremely unlikely” one had exploded.A spokesman for the National Institute of Scientific Investigation said its branch in the central city of Daejeon had received a request to investigate the incident.Nampa-AFP”We presume the cellphone battery exploded.We’ve found nothing that might have caused the explosion apart from the phone, which was melted down badly,” a local police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.The officer said the phone was being sent for a scientific examination and an autopsy would be conducted.Professor Kim Hoon of Chungbuk National University, who examined the body, was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying he presumed the death was caused by an exploding phone battery.”He was injured in the left side of his chest.His ribs and spine were broken.The explosion punctured his heart and lungs, leading to his death,” Kim was quoted as saying.Another worker told Yonhap he was going up the hill to set a dynamite charge at the quarry when he found his workmate’s body.”He was bleeding from the nose,” the worker said.”He had a mobile phone with a melted battery in his left shirt pocket.His shirt had soot on it in the shape of the phone.”Judy Pae, a spokeswoman for LG Electronics, the phone manufacturer, said the cause of death was still being investigated.She said the batteries were given rigorous safety tests and it was “extremely unlikely” one had exploded.A spokesman for the National Institute of Scientific Investigation said its branch in the central city of Daejeon had received a request to investigate the incident.Nampa-AFP