The CEO of a Malaysian company has died in his home last week after his smartphone apparently caught fire while charging.
His company, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, released a statement on Friday, June 15, confirming the tragedy. Nazrin Hassan, 45, died in the fire in his home located in the Malaysian township of Mutiara Damansara on Thursday, June 14.
Hassan was reportedly charging a smartphone near his bed, and the device overheated and caught fire, reports the Malaysian Insight. This is far from being the first case of a mobile phone catching fire. Aside from the explosive Galaxy Note 7 from 2016, which was recalled twice, such issues have been generally chalked up to using faulty or third-party cables or chargers.
Just earlier this month, a Samsung phone caught fire and destroyed a car, but fortunately, nobody died in that case.
Smartphone Explosion Kills Man In Malaysia
Hassan's family took to social media to talk about the tragedy, and his brother-in-law said that the phone caused an explosion. He says that Hassan had two smartphones, a Huawei and a BlackBerry, and it remains unclear which one overheated and caught fire.
In a press release, Cradle Fund says that the post-mortem report confirmed that Hassan's death stemmed from wounds consistent with a mobile device explosion.
Routine Procedure Gone Horribly Wrong
Hassan is survived by a wife and four children, who are now mourning the sudden loss.
"Who would have thought such an innocuous routine procedure is the reason three young kids will grow up without their father by their side," said Hassan's brother-in-law, as cited by the Malaysian Insight.
Police said that the man got trapped in his bedroom, where the fire broke out, and the smoke inhalation was likely what killed him. At the same time, another report from The Star notes that Hassan suffered severe burns on roughly 30 percent of his body. The bed's mattress reportedly caught fire as well, but Hassan was already dead at the time.
Careful Where You Charge Your Phone
The message Hassan's family posted on social media urges people to be more careful about how and where they charge their mobile devices, to avoid a potential tragedy like this.
They suggest having a safe zone for charging and preferably leaving devices to charge outside of the bedroom. Having your phone in another room might be a slight inconvenience, but it's minor compared to what could happen if the phone explodes by the bedside.
No other details are available at this point, and it remains unclear just what caused the smartphone to overheat in the first place.
