S. Korean Man Dies After Cell Phone Explodes

November 28, 2007 12:38 p.m. EST

Seoul, S. Korea (AHN) - Police suspect an exploding cell phone battery may have killed a South Korean man Wednesday. The battery melted while in the shirt pocket of a quarry worker, reports said.

An unnamed police official told the AP they "presume that the cell phone battery exploded." An investigation into the death is continuing.

A doctor who has seen the body said death was due to heart and lung damage. The victim's ribs and spine were also fractured during the explosion. The BBC reported the man was found with soot on his shirt the shape of a cell phone.

In July, a Chinese welder's death was blamed on an exploding mobile phone, according to the BBC.

However, an anonymous spokesperson for the phone's maker LG Electronics told the AP death by exploding mobile phone battery was "virtually impossible." In a statement, LG said the phone was made and sold only in South Korea.