Korean man killed by exploding cellphone

South Korea, which has already seen two people supposedly struck by lightning drawn to their cellphones, has now experienced its first death due to an exploding handset battery. According to the AP, a quarry worker was found dead Wednesday with the remnants of an LG mobile melted into his shirt pocket, much like the welder who died under similar tragic circumstances this summer in China. For its part, while acknowledging that one of its phones was indeed the culprit, LG reportedly claimed that dying due to such an accident was "virtually impossible."

[Image courtesy of Yonhap News, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[e-z-e @ Nov 28th 2007 11:36AM]

"virtually impossible" You keep using those words. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[stillen @ Nov 28th 2007 11:59AM]

You are amazing...gotta love the reference!

[Speddy @ Nov 28th 2007 3:08PM]

Inconceivable!!!

In other news,

(Nice shot Snake, got him through the heart and made it look like his phone essploded)

[pscs @ Nov 28th 2007 3:13PM]

should LG's new slogan be "Virtually impossible" now?

[tekdroid @ Nov 28th 2007 11:39AM]

LG: Life's Good?

Lucky Goldstar (if you're alive)

[stitifier @ Nov 28th 2007 11:41AM]

"For its part, while acknowledging that one of its phones was indeed the culprit, LG reportedly claimed that dying due to such an accident was 'virtually possible.'"

Fixed.

[Hax Or @ Nov 28th 2007 11:45AM]

The old man generation is annoying.

You killed the man. Pay up.

[Don @ Nov 28th 2007 11:52AM]

Hmmm... A quarry worker? I guess LG has a very odd definition of impossible.

Worker
"Just another day working in a quarry with this heavy equipment...Wow, is it getting hot? Holy Shishka, my fracking shirt's on fire!!!!!"

He falls from the quarry's face to his death on the rocks below.

[Dan Bugglin @ Nov 28th 2007 11:54AM]

I personally think it's "virtually impossible" I'll be getting another LG phone.

[pasht @ Nov 28th 2007 11:56AM]

Struck by lightening, eh? I think lightning is more electrifying, myself.

[Phillip @ Nov 28th 2007 4:08PM]

I concur.

[Brian @ Nov 28th 2007 11:57AM]

Title for the article should read:
While cell phone companies are slowly killing people with brain tumors, LG has found a more efficient way.

[Flashpoint @ Nov 28th 2007 11:58AM]

Other things which WERE "virtualy impossible"

- for man to fly
- for man to break the sound barrier
-for man to reach and land on the moon
-nano particle robots
-teleportation (has been done in labs with subatomic particles)


Instead of using a WEASEL WORD like "virtual" maybe they should just say "highly improbable but possible"

[Carbonize @ Nov 28th 2007 12:01PM]

But man hasn't been to the moon. It was all a hoax filmed on a back lot at Area 51.

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 28th 2007 12:03PM]

jamiroquai - virtual insanity

[Marty @ Nov 28th 2007 12:12PM]

You realize you just posted the definition of "virtually" right?

[Tracy in Cary @ Nov 29th 2007 11:32AM]

It's been a while (year?) but last I heard scientists have NOT successfully teleported any subatomic particles. They had successfully taken a subatomic particle in location-B and influenced it so that it is a duplicate of a certain subatomic particle in location-A.

Why they called this teleportation I have no idea. Sounded like a subatomic 3D copier to me. (ie: The original particle was still sitting there in it's original location.)

Do you have any articles you can point me to of successes at real teleportation?

[Flashpoint @ Nov 28th 2007 11:59AM]

That Lg Prada is gonna kick some serious ass !

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 28th 2007 12:02PM]

yea all those diamonds would be deadly shrapnel

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 28th 2007 12:06PM]

He mustve just got the mission and forgot to dispose the phone..

"..This LG will self-destruct in 5 seconds."

[David @ Nov 28th 2007 12:12PM]

Cell phone and dynamite. I bet he had blasting caps in the pocket with the cell phone. Receive a call and BOOM!

[3rdsun @ Nov 28th 2007 2:42PM]

Mission virtually Impossible

[pscs @ Nov 28th 2007 3:11PM]

LG deserves a Nobel Peace prize for using dynamite in a peaceful way (not used on war!)

[macona @ Nov 28th 2007 12:33PM]

LG: Burning away the competition.

[mmh @ Nov 28th 2007 12:43PM]

Yeah, their own.

[Joshua Walters @ Nov 28th 2007 12:50PM]

I doubt that it was just the phone. There had to be SOMETHING. Maybe some heat or something.

Oh, and engadget, you where a little slow on this one. I read this this morning on Verizons Wireless tech news section.

[IndiaTech @ Nov 28th 2007 7:12PM]

Must have been fun for all those who read this on their LG Chocolate...

[Joshua Walters @ Nov 29th 2007 7:26PM]

LOL

Screw the chocolate. EnV is where its at.

I wish I could have afforded the Voyager though.

[Carbonize @ Nov 28th 2007 12:51PM]

Maybe it's a new type of alert. First we had audio, then vibrating and now never miss another call again with the LG Boomer.

[dosguy @ Nov 28th 2007 12:52PM]

I think the last time anyone was struck by lightening was when some guy got hit on the head by a falling chandelier.

[James Yopp @ Nov 28th 2007 12:54PM]

Which goes to show that, if you're a blue-collar worker in hot, dusty conditions that pose a threat of extreme environmental duress and/or random puncturing or impact trauma to your phone, DON'T:

- Use a consumer-level phone on the job. Get a ruggedized, dustproof, shockproof phone that has been tested and approved for that kind of environment

- Don't put explosive chemicals near your vital organs, no matter how safe and well-packaged you think they are. Invest in a belt clip at the least, or wear some cargo pants/shorts with low pockets.

Not that there's really nothing to see here, but this story is kind of like "Using a normal product under extreme conditions that it was not designed for, and which the manufacturer explicitly says to avoid, can be dangerous."

[CapnVan @ Nov 28th 2007 1:02PM]

Another reason not to put your phone in your front pant's pocket.

[Hollywood Ron @ Nov 28th 2007 1:11PM]

That's exactly why I just put my phone in my desk drawer.

[k2001 @ Nov 28th 2007 1:07PM]

I remember reading something about that in China about same kind of incident with a motorola phone. Lesson - never put you phone in your front pocket near your chest. put it somewhere else.

[Digital1 @ Nov 28th 2007 2:12PM]

Like where? Side pockets will blow off your thighs; back pocket will blow off a butt cheek; A bag maybe?

[DWells55 @ Nov 28th 2007 1:07PM]

Wow, that's legitimately frightening. While I understand that the odds of this happening are extremely small, it's still crazy to think that a device many people carry with them at all times is also capable of spontaneously killing them. Perhaps it's time for a serious look into the dangers of batteries and strict government regulation on them.

[orpheus @ Nov 28th 2007 1:43PM]

I prefer to let natural selection take its course.


That was a joke, but I'd hate to see more government regulation.

[DWells55 @ Nov 28th 2007 2:23PM]

I'm not one to promote the government meddling with the lives of its citizens, but I think its important to have regulations regarding consumer goods and safety. I feel that we could be doing a better job overall. It's not that uncommon to hear of deaths/injuries/property damage caused by everyday consumer goods, and while I understand that things are bound to happen, I still feel that we could be doing a better job. I mean look at Aquadots - how does a children's toy that turns into GHB manage to get sold on American shelves?

[blade417 @ Nov 28th 2007 1:19PM]

owned

[Andy @ Nov 28th 2007 1:50PM]

Are you serious, that title is seriously misleading.
They guy works in a quary, and as pointed out on slashdot if there were burn marks and melted plastic, most of the energy was released slowly as thermal energy, not kinetic (blowing up).
Even if it did blow up hows that going to break your spine come on, he had a broken spine and ribs.
Unless LG has some new battery that when blows up is stronger than hand grenade.

[MikeyJ @ Nov 28th 2007 8:13PM]

"stronger than a hand grenade"...?

If you had a US military issue M67 (6.5oz of Comp B) hand grenade go off in your front pocket of your shirt...you wouldn't have a shirt...you wouldnt have to worry about broken spine or ribs...you wouldn't have them anymore. The most you could hope for is your shoes and parts of your legs, if you were tall enough.

[Willis @ Nov 28th 2007 1:52PM]

maybe it wasn't LG's fault, it was the battery manufacturer...but who cares, LG makes shitty phones anyway.

[Linh @ Nov 28th 2007 2:00PM]

LG should be proud of this - Dell's notebooks are much bigger yet haven't killed any

[Mark @ Nov 28th 2007 2:08PM]

So the same people that are still harping on about Sony laptop batteries (which have bnot actually hurt anyone), should be going bannanas for YEARS over this..

Oh wait, it's not Sony, so will fall off the radar in a few hours.

HYPOCRITES...

[shimman @ Nov 28th 2007 8:45PM]

sony deserved it; sony knew that there were problems with batteries, but they kept on making defective batteries until they were forced. sony assured to the public and its business customers like dell that problems were isolated, but becuase apple, dell, and other business customers were getting killed for sony's fault that sony's business customers forced sony to admit the problem.

the recent unpopularity of sony rooted in sony's attitude; sony doesn't really care about its end customers. sony has a tendency to ignore problems like that because sony believes that we are the ones who should be thankful to sony for providing products. it's a cultural thing like it is customary to pay "THANK YOU MONEY" to a landlord for let you rent a room/house (it's NOT refundable) on top of a security deposit.

in sony's defense, sony probably thought that people wouldn't use their laptop PCs for so long as most product support cycles are much shorter in japan than u.s.

[kmdv @ Nov 28th 2007 2:16PM]

I keep picturing Korean phones attracting bleach. Please consider the difference between "lightning" and "lightening" ... because you sincerely don't want to lightning your teeth.

[Digital1 @ Nov 28th 2007 2:17PM]

I really do feel bad for this guy and his family. Wonder what LG will do? Give them all free cellphones? I wonder what the explodability of the Prada or the Voyager is?

[Greenfield @ Nov 28th 2007 2:26PM]

First death from an exploding cellphone was many years ago in the early days of the cellphone, that was when Israel planted one that worked and meant to explode in the hands of a terrorist mastermind.
He got a call, and was called by his name, and as he said "yes" they blow it up.

probably the coolest and most precise anti-terror operation conducted by any country.

LG be advised, big contract with America is possible

[pscs @ Nov 28th 2007 3:07PM]

struck by "lightening" drawn to their cellphones,

= "lightning"

[deniz @ Nov 28th 2007 3:25PM]

i believe mythbusters did test something like this but they used piercing instead of cellphone. this calls for a new test.