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CANBERRA. – The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued a warning for travellers using battery-powered headphones, after a woman was severely burnt when a battery exploded on a recent flight from Beijing to Melbourne. In a statement released yesterday, the ATSB said officials had spoken to the woman, who was listening to music at the time of the explosion.
“On a recent flight from Beijing to Melbourne, a passenger was listening to music using a pair of her own battery-operated headphones,” the ATSB said.
“About two hours into the flight while sleeping, the passenger heard a loud explosion.
“The woman told the ATSB that she suffered burns and boils from the incident, but praised the aircraft’s crew for the quick thinking
“As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face,” the unnamed woman said, “I just grabbed my face, which caused the headphones to go around my neck. “I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.
“As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them. They put them into the bucket at the rear of the plane.”
The ATSB reminded passengers using battery-powered devices that “devices should be kept in an approved stowage, unless in use.”
“Spare batteries must be in your carry-on baggage NOT checked baggage,” said the ATSB statement. “(Passengers) should locate their devices before moving powered seats (and) if a passenger cannot locate their device, they should refrain from moving their seat and immediately contact a cabin crew member.”
News of the headphone explosion comes after cellphone maker Samsung was forced to recall a number of its Galaxy Note phones because they were also found to explode. Many airlines have since banned the faulty phones from being brought on board. – Xinhua.
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