Woman's headphones reportedly explode during flight after falling asleep

Headphones explode on woman's face during flight

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An unidentified woman travelling from Beijing to Melbourne last month reportedly suffered from burns on her face and hand after her headphones exploded on her face.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the incident occurred mid-flight on Feb. 19. The woman, who was not identified, told agents at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau that she was listening to music at the time.

She was wearing battery-operated headphones and she was startled by an explosion. She reportedly said, “As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face. I just grabbed my face, which caused the headphones to go around my neck.”

Flight attendants responded by pouring a bucket of water on the headphones. The battery and cover were melted and stuck to the floor, the paper reported.

The ATSB did not identify the company that makes the headphones.

"The ATSB has assessed that it is the batteries, as the power source, that caught on fire and are therefore the issue... All batteries contain stored energy and are therefore potentially risky," the report said.

Last year, Samsung halted sales of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after finding batteries of some of the devices exploded while they were charged.

Samsung issued its first global recall of the flagship smartphone because it has not found ways to specify exactly which phones may endanger the user. The smartphones are being yanked from shelves in 10 countries, including the U.S. and South Korea.

Some buyers reported their phones caught fire or exploded while charging, sharing the photos of scorched phones on social media. Samsung said it had confirmed 35 such cases in South Korea and overseas.

There have been no reports of injuries related to the problem.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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