A Sydney woman received an electric shock from her Apple iPhone Ambulance spokesman has warned people to be careful with their devices Earlier this month a Chinese woman died when she used her phone Paramedics in Australia say they have responded to a number of calls about shocks from iPhones
By Jaymi Mccann
PUBLISHED: 08:05 EST, 25 July 2013 | UPDATED: 08:12 EST, 25 July 2013
Australian ambulance officials warned iPhone owners today to be careful how they handle their devices after a Sydney woman was taken to hospital when she allegedly received an electric shock from her device.
The incident follows what ambulance authorities said were hundreds of emergency calls for mobile phone shocks between January and June this year.
Earlier this month the family of a Chinese woman said she had died after receiving an electric shock from her iPhone when she was using it while it was charging.
In the latest Australian incident, a woman in her 20s, from the Sydney suburb of Chatswood, was taken by ambulance to the Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition after allegedly receiving a shock from her iPhone.
It is not known whether the phone was plugged into a charger at the time, but a spokeswoman said paramedics had responded to a number of shocks from mobile phone chargers this year.
New South Wales Ambulance has attended 232 emergency calls for electric shocks in the first six months of this year, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported.
The spokeswoman said mobile phone users should keep an eye on their phone's connection.
'If the appliances are dusty, they should be given a vacuum clean,' she said, suggesting that dust could get into the terminals and cause a short circuit.
Inspector John Brotherhood of the ambulance service warned that a slight shock could cause serious health problems.
'It takes only a small shock to interfere with your heart,' he said.
'Basically, if the jolt moves you, if it takes your breath away or if it's at all a cause for concern, you need to get it' - referring to a person's health and also the phone - 'checked out.'
Earlier this month air stewardess Ma Ailun was killed by an electric shock when she answered a call on her iPhone 5 while it was recharging, it was claimed yesterday.
News of the death of 23-year-old was posted on the internet by her sister, prompting criticism of Apple among the country's millions of iPhone users.
'I want to warn everyone else not to make phone calls when your mobile phone is recharging,' her sister wrote.
Miss Ma, who was due to marry in August, was said to have bought her iPhone 5 in December from an official store in her home town in Xinjiang province.
Her brother told a Hong Kong newspaper the phone had been handed to Chinese authorities for examination.
Miss Ma's brother, Yuelun, told Apple Daily that the family believe she died from an electric shock while answering a call and that the phone and its accessories have been handed over to the Chinese authorities.
Her sister then wrote on social networking site Weibo: 'I want to warn everyone else not to make phone calls when your mobile phone is recharging.'
She said Ma had bought the iPhone in December at an official Apple store and was using the original charger to recharge the phone when the incident occurred.
Apple, said it had launched a 'thorough investigation', adding: 'We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the family.
'We will fully investigate and co-operate with authorities in this matter.'
This warning also comes after Chinese man Wu Jiantong reportedly fell into a coma after suffering an electric shock as he plugged in his iPhone 4 to charge.
He collapsed at around 10pm on Monday after connecting his iPhone 4 to a charger at home in Beijing. He'd had the phone for two years.
'He shouted 'electric shock' and then fell to the floor,' Wu's sister told Xinhua news agency, adding that she felt a slight shock herself when she tried to unplug the faulty charger, which she said was not official Apple hardware.
An Apple spokesman said: 'It was with great sadness we learned through press reports that a Beijing customer was injured while using a "knock off" or counterfeit charger and we are looking into this further.
'Our customers' safety is very important to us and we have carefully designed all Apple products to meet government safety standards. We recommend our customers only purchase Apple products from Apple or authorized Apple resellers.'
news by July 25, 2013 at 08:38PM
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