Charging Phone Bursts Into Flames Under Sleeping Man's Pillow, Leaving Him With Burns

A charging phone burst into flames under a sleeping man’s pillow, leaving him with minor burns.

The man, identified as 53-year-old Chandra Babu, kept the device under his pillow after plugging it in for charging at his home in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Monday. He then went to sleep.

A few hours later, he woke up to searing pain in the shoulder and noticed his pillow had caught fire.

"I woke up as I felt a searing pain in my shoulder. When I looked at the bed, the side of the pillow where the phone was kept was burnt and sparks were coming from the phone," he told The News Minute.

He immediately removed the plug from the socket and pushed the device to the ground. The phone was partially charred by then.

Babu rushed to a nearby hospital where he was treated for burns he had suffered on his shoulder and left arm. He has since been discharged from the hospital.

"I was alone at home when this happened, and I immediately rushed to the government hospital nearby for treatment," Babu told the website.

Though he doesn’t know the exact reason behind the explosion, he believes the device must have overheated, resulting in the battery swelling up and bursting into flames. Babu added the device was very old.

Warning people to not keep their phones under or beside their pillows while sleeping, the victim said, "Seeing the news, many had contacted me to know what happened. Maybe it was due to friction, whatever it is, it will be safe for people to not keep mobile phones under their pillow while sleeping."

In a similar incident last year, a smartphone exploded beside a sleeping woman’s pillow. The 58-year-old woman woke up to a loud sound similar to that of a firecracker and noticed sparks coming from her phone. She immediately pushed the phone to the ground and noticed a black powder-like substance coming out of the device.

The woman told local media the device was just beside her pillow and was not plugged into any power source when it exploded.