Samsung Galaxy Duos phone catches fire in man’s pocket

Samsung Galaxy Duos phone catches fire in man’s pocket, caught on video
Samsung Galaxy Duos smartphone exploded and burst into flames in a man's shirt pocket, according to reports
By: Tech Desk | New Delhi |
Updated: October 9, 2017 4:00 Pm
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Samsung Galaxy Duos smartphone caught fire while inside a man’s pocket

A Samsung Galaxy Duos smartphone recently exploded and burst into flames in a man’s shirt pocket, according to reports. The incident, which took place in Indonesia on September 30, was captured on CCTV camera. Samsung has admitted it was a Galaxy Duos smartphone that caught fire. The South Korean major, however, is not at fault in this case given that the battery used in the phone was not an authorised one.
The incident was reported by Channel News Asia last week, according to a report on CNET. In the CCTV footage, which has gone viral on the internet, the man is seen putting the phone inside in his shirt pocket. In the next couple of seconds, the phone bursts into bright blue flames and the man falls to the ground as he tries to take his shirt off. The CCTV footage shows a bystander helping the man who manages to take off the shirt in time.
According to the Channel News Asia report, the incident took place in Hotel Ciputra Semarang and the man has been identified as hotel staff Yulianto.

The Daily Mail has quoted Yulianto as saying, “There was a strong sensation of heat and I felt something start to shake. Before I knew what was happening there was fire and I panicked. I took off my shirt as quickly as I could.”
The phone is not visible in the video, but Samsung confirmed it to be a Galaxy Duos phone. In an email to CNET, Samsung’s representatives said the battery used in the device was not manufactured by them. The statement to CNET adds, “We sincerely wish for our customer’s swift recovery, and strongly recommend all our consumers to use Samsung’s genuine or approved batteries that have been specifically designed for use in Samsung products.”

Samsung Galaxy Duos was initially launched in 2013 and this is a very old model from the company. For Samsung, the most serious issue with phones exploding and catching fire was around the Galaxy Note 7, which was eventually pulled out of production. However, in this particular case, the company has been quick to respond and point out the real issue.
In India too, there have been reports of phones catching fire. Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4 reportedly caught fire in two separate incidents in the country. In one case, the company had claimed a faulty charger was used that caused the fire. When it comes to battery and old smartphones, most companies will insist that customers use authorised genuine chargers. Also unauthorised repairs, battery change can cause the device to malfunction and, as we’ve seen in some recent cases, catch fire.