Apple investigating after Chinese woman dies of electric shock using iPhone 5

23-year-old Ma Ailun answered a call on her phone after getting out of the bath

James Vincent
Tuesday 16 July 2013 11:48 BST
Comments
Apple iPhones on display
Apple iPhones on display (PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Apple has confirmed that it will be investigating an accident in which a woman was killed, electrocuted whilst answering a call on her charging iPhone 5.

The incident occurred last Thursday when Ma Ailun, a 23-year-old woman who worked as a flight attendant for China Southern Airlines, answered the charging phone after just getting out of the bath.

The incident was tweeted by Ma’s sister after blogging the incident. She reported that her sister, who was planning her wedding on August 8, fell to the floor after picking up the call. The tweet was reposted more than 3,000 times and prompted arguments over whether Apple’s handsets were safe to use whilst charging.

A spokesperson for Apple China said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family. We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter.”

Death by electrocution whilst using a charging mobile phone is an extremely rare occurrence but could be caused by a failure of electrical insulation. It has been suggested that such a failure could have been caused by extremely hot climate in Xingiang, the region in China where Ma Ailun lived.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in