- Ma Ailun, a China Southern Airlines air hostess, died in Xinjian, China
- Family say she was answering her iPhone 5 at home while it was charging
- Sister says Ma bought hers from Apple store, was using original charger
- Apple have launched investigation into claims and are 'helping authorities'
- iPhone 5 was launched with much fanfare across world in September
Matt Blake
and Peter Simpson
Published:
09:23 GMT, 15 July 2013
|
Updated:
00:13 GMT, 16 July 2013
An air stewardess was killed by an electric shock when she answered a
call on her iPhone 5 while it was recharging, it was claimed yesterday.
News
of the death of Ma Ailun, 23, was posted on the internet by her sister,
prompting criticism of Apple among the country’s millions of iPhone
users.
‘I want to warn everyone else not to make phone calls when your mobile phone is recharging,’ her sister wrote.
China Southern Airlines, died when she picked up her
iPhone as it charged at home on Thursday, her family said. Ma often took
pictures of herself with her phone and posted them online (above)
Southern Airlines, allegedly suffered a massive electric shock as she
picked up her new iPhone 5 to answer a call as it was charging on
Thursday (stock image)
Miss Ma, who was due to marry in
August, was said to have bought her iPhone 5 in December from an
official store in her home town in Xinjiang province.
Her brother told a Hong Kong newspaper the phone had been handed to Chinese authorities for examination.
There were also safety warnings about
the millions of cheap copycat phones and chargers on the market. Apple
products sell out quickly in China, the demand fuelling the factories
churning out fake iPhones, iPads and iPods.
In 2011, 22 fake Apple stores were uncovered in one Chinese city, Kunming, alone.
Apple promised to investigate the death – a blow for the technology company in its second largest market after the US.
It declined to say if it was investigating an isolated case or if it was considering a product recall.
The safety scare is the latest incident to blight the company’s reputation in China.
In April, Apple apologised to Chinese
consumers and changed iPhone warranty policies, following criticism of
its after-sales service.
Two years ago conditions at some of the factories making Apple products were blamed for a spate of worker suicides.
Miss Ma's brother, Yuelun, told Apple Daily that the family believe
she died from an electric shock while answering a call and that the
phone and its accessories have been handed over to the Chinese
authorities.
thousands of Apple fans queue for days outside Apple stores across the
world to be the first to get their hands on the state-of-the-art gadget
Her sister then wrote on social networking site Weibo: 'I want to
warn everyone else not to make phone calls when your mobile phone is
recharging.'
She said Ma had bought the iPhone in December at an official Apple store
and was using the original charger to recharge the phone when the
incident occurred.
Apple, said it had launched a 'thorough
investigation', adding: 'We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic
incident and offer our condolences to the family.
HOW SAFE IS YOUR iPHONE? THE MALFUNCTIONS THAT HAVE DOGGED APPLE IN RECENT YEARS
Apple's
mobile gadgets have a generally good safety record with few serious
defects reported since the first generation iPhone was launched in 2007.
However,
as smartphones become more powerful, with larger batteries needing more
electricity to power them, there have been growing reports of dangerous
malfunctions that have dogged the firm in recent years.
February
2013 - Marketing manager Shibani Bhujle, from New York, claimed the
battery of her iPhone 4S spontaneously melted, oozing acid that
destroyed the handset.
January 2013 - An Oregon fire crew blamed an apartment blaze on an overheated MacBook battery which dropped onto a mattress.
December 2011 - An iPhone 4 reportedly began
emitting smoke in a plane cabin on a flight to Australia.
December 2011 - It was reported that an iPhone 4 was
plugged in to charge overnight in Brazil when it began to emit smoke and sparks as
its owner slept nearby.
November 2011 - Apple recalled all
iPod Nanos amid fears the batteries on older models were prone to
overheating and catching fire.
In 2010, a man in northeast China
was killed by an electric shock when making a phone call with a handset
that was being recharged with an unauthorized charger, according to the
China Consumers Association.
In 2008 a
3G owner claimed his phone overheated in his pocket and burned his leg
while he was asleep.
But Apple is not the only smartphone maker to have come under fire for faulty gadgets.
Just
last week, a Swiss teenager suffered second and third degree burns when
her Samsung Galaxy S3 apparently exploded in her pocket.
In May, a Reddit user posted pictures on the site of his charred Galaxy S3, claiming he was 'awoken by a loud noise and a
weird squeaking sound' to find it smouldering by the side of his bed.
'We will fully investigate and co-operate with authorities in this matter.'mobile gadgets have a generally good safety record with few serious
defects reported since the first generation iPhone was launched in 2007.
However,
as smartphones become more powerful, with larger batteries needing more
electricity to power them, there have been growing reports of dangerous
malfunctions that have dogged the firm in recent years.
February
2013 - Marketing manager Shibani Bhujle, from New York, claimed the
battery of her iPhone 4S spontaneously melted, oozing acid that
destroyed the handset.
January 2013 - An Oregon fire crew blamed an apartment blaze on an overheated MacBook battery which dropped onto a mattress.
December 2011 - An iPhone 4 reportedly began
emitting smoke in a plane cabin on a flight to Australia.
December 2011 - It was reported that an iPhone 4 was
plugged in to charge overnight in Brazil when it began to emit smoke and sparks as
its owner slept nearby.
November 2011 - Apple recalled all
iPod Nanos amid fears the batteries on older models were prone to
overheating and catching fire.
In 2010, a man in northeast China
was killed by an electric shock when making a phone call with a handset
that was being recharged with an unauthorized charger, according to the
China Consumers Association.
In 2008 a
3G owner claimed his phone overheated in his pocket and burned his leg
while he was asleep.
But Apple is not the only smartphone maker to have come under fire for faulty gadgets.
Just
last week, a Swiss teenager suffered second and third degree burns when
her Samsung Galaxy S3 apparently exploded in her pocket.
In May, a Reddit user posted pictures on the site of his charred Galaxy S3, claiming he was 'awoken by a loud noise and a
weird squeaking sound' to find it smouldering by the side of his bed.
China’s popular social media chat
sites, called Weibos, were flooded with posts urging fellow iPhone users
not to make calls while charging their phones.
And many warned to only use original chargers and avoid plugging in cheap copy chargers which are widely available.
'Be
sure to select only qualified, certifiable products - the best is the
original because safety is most assured. Don’t buy fake chargers!'
warned poster Zhao Chao.
Apple products are popular in China but
new items are quickly cloned by the country’s infamous copy merchants
who produce look-a-like fake phones, laptops, iPads and iPods, which are
often hard to distinguish from originals.
Mobile phones have a relatively low
electrical output of between 3 to 5 volts - much less than the 36 volts
it takes for a person to feel a shock.
But experts say if the charger or the circuit has a problem, such as a broken wire, it can lead to a shock of 220 volts.
Johnny Sin Kin-on, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, told the South China Morning Post: 'There is a risk using an electrical device while its installed battery is being charged, be it a shaver or a phone.'
The iPhone 5's much-vaunted launch
last September saw thousands of Apple fans queue for days outside Apple
stores across the world to be the first to get their hands on the
state-of-the-art gadget.
Grinning customers were greeted with
cheers and high fives from staff as they walked into stores ready to
grab the latest hotly-anticipated smartphone.
It costs between £529 and £699 in the UK and $199 and $399 in the US, depending on the amount of memory, has a
larger screen and is lighter and slimmer than previous models.
The news comes as it was revealed today that Apple has fallen off the top ten list of best-perceived brands
in 2013.
The tech firm - known for its trailblazing innovation - lost its charismatic front man Steve
Jobs in 2011 and then faced a chorus of disapproval over allegations of child
labor in its supply chain, not to mention long-reported harsh conditions
in its Chinese factories.
Most recently, the brand was convicted on
Wednesday of conspiring to raise and fix the price of e-books in an
attempt to dominate the market leader, Amazon.
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