English boy injured by exploding Blackberry mobile phone

GlobalPost

Are you the type of person who tends to sleep with your mobile phone?

You might want to reconsider: a 11-year-old English boy has been badly burned after his Blackberry Curve 9320 phone spontaneously combusted on his bed, in an incident that's caused new inquiry into the safety of the devices.

The Telegraph reports that young Kian McCreath was sleeping soundly last Sunday when the phone—a gift originally purchased for his older brother—burst into flames, causing him to run from the room screaming in pain.

According to the Mirror, his mother had set the phone on his bed, as McCreath regularly used the smartphone's alarm function. Luckily, she was up and about at the time of the accident, and was able to stop the flames.

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Kian suffered from painful plastic burns on his legs and feet, wounds which will likely cause permanent scarring. Images of his painful-looking injuries are hosted on the Mirror's website.

McCreath's parent's are now lobbying Blackberry to recall the Curve 9320 model before the holidays, to ensure other buyers aren't hurt.

Canadian Blackberry makers Research in Motion told the Telegraph that they were "investigating the matter."

The popular, inexpensive smartphone model currently retails for $193.36 on Amazon.com's UK page, and is selling briskly ahead of the holiday season.

Explosive smartphones have been documented before.

In July, footage of an iPhone allegedly exploding in a Finnish 17-year-old's pocket made the rounds online, while in 2011, an iPhone was reported to have spontaneously combusted in Brazil, according to Cnet.com.

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