How Dangerous Is The Samsung Galaxy Note 7? Explosion Burns 6-Year-Old As South Korea Giant Advises Owners To Power Down Their Devices

Just a week after Samsung made the recall of the Galaxy Note 7 official, a very alarming incident has taken place that could change the mind of naysayers claiming their handsets are unlikely to catch fire or explode.

Just this Saturday, a 6-year-old New York boy was reportedly rushed to the hospital after the Galaxy Note 7 he was holding in his hand burst into flames.

Telling the New York Post about the incident, the boy’s grandmother, Linda Lewis, said the explosion was strong enough to set off the alarms in their house and that her grandson was immediately taken to Downstate Medical Center because he obtained burns on his body.

Phone Arena has learned that the 6-year-old was just browsing videos through his smartphone when it exploded out of the blue. Lewis says that following the incident, her grandson is now hesitant to go near any phones.

The boy’s family has already communicated with Samsung, but they have yet to reveal specific details about the communication that took place.

The news about the disturbing incident comes a day after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission released an official statement warning owners how dangerous the defective Galaxy Note 7 Lithium-Ion batteries could be. The agency urged owners in the statement that they should “power them down and stop charging or using the device.”

On Saturday, Samsung also made a similar announcement via its official blog, telling owners of its new phablet to power them down and have them replaced via the company’s official global recall program as quickly as possible. Samsung reportedly made the announcement after U.S. authorities urged owners to turn off their handsets and to not charge them when they are onboard a plane.

According to CNBC, several airlines have also requested owners to switch off the phablet and not include them in their travel baggage. There are also carriers who have since banned the smartphones on flights.

Late last week, Samsung announced its recall program that seeks to provide replacements to handsets that could potentially explode. The tech giant has also stopped the sale of its iPhone 7 Plus rival, as per Gizmodo.

While the global recall was mainly triggered by reports revealing that the phablet could catch fire or explode while charging, other issues like faulty S-Pen, crashing and bootlooping handsets and even bricking devices have since been uncovered.