Can You Hear Me NOW?

South Korean officials suspect a man may have been killed by an exploding cell phone battery placed in his shirt pocket. The unfortunate Mr. Suh was discovered early Wednesday, deceased, at the quarry where he worked in Cheongwon, 85 miles south of Seoul. His mobile phone battery (presumably within his mobile phone) was found melted in his chest pocket. (NB: not the guy in the picture...it's surprisingly tough to find a pic of a cute guy with a cell phone burn on his chest. Food for thought.)

Police have said "We presume that the cell phone battery exploded," and while the investigation is still pending, a doctor's examination concurred:

"He sustained an injury that is similar to a burn in the left chest and his ribs and spine were broken... It is presumed that pressure caused by the explosion damaged his heart and lungs, leading to his death."

South Korea's LG Electronics, the maker of the phone, hasn't commented except to acknowledge that the phone involved was of their manufacture and to remark that such a fatal explosion "would be virtually impossible."

Possibilities aside, I doubt we'll see a rash of exploding cell phone phobia like we did with the most-certainly exploded laptop batteries a while back; but it's still good to know there's one more thing you put near your groin, head or heart that could feasibly explode.

Exploding cell phone battery may have killed South Korean man: officials [Herald Tribune]
[via Slashdot]