iPad charger explodes in dad's hand

File photo: Scrutiny of Apple's supply chain has industry trackers thinking the new iPad will get 'narrower, thinner, and lighter'.

File photo: Scrutiny of Apple's supply chain has industry trackers thinking the new iPad will get 'narrower, thinner, and lighter'.

Published Aug 29, 2013

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London - A father got a nasty shock when he tried to unplug his little girl’s iPad charger – only for it to explode in his hand.

Tim Gillooley, 34, was thrown across the room and suffered burns to his fingers when he removed the plug from the wall socket. He said the electric shock would have killed his daughter Chloe, eight.

The incident took place at Mr Gillooley’s mother’s house.

“There was a massive bang and I felt a huge jolt up my arm, and I was thrown completely across the room,” he said.

“I was in total shock. Chloe burst into tears and everyone was stunned.

“This has very serious safety implications. I am pretty angry because nine times out of ten, Chloe would have gone to get it herself.

“I think it would definitely have killed her. The shock I received was massive.” Mr Gillooley, from Warrington, bought Chloe the iPad Mini for her birthday last November from the Apple Store in Liverpool.

Some months later it began to develop problems while charging, and he returned to the shop – but was told there was nothing wrong with the charger or the device.

Instead he purchased a new cable in the hope it would solve the charging problems – but saw no improvement.

The former trader, who is now a full-time carer for his mother, said: “We were big fans of Apple, but I won’t let my daughter near her iPhone now because it could be a ticking timebomb.”

Apple is yet to comment on Mr Gillooley’s claims. It has asked him to send it the iPad and remains of the charger for examination.

Mr Gillooley, who has split custody of Chloe, said he is particularly upset by the incident because he used the gadgets to keep in contact with his daughter when she stays with her mother.

The incident follows reports that a 23-year-old Chinese air stewardess, Ma Ailun, was killed by an electric shock when she answered a call on her iPhone 5 while it was charging.

The tale prompted a wave of criticism of Apple among China’s millions of iPhone users.

The victim’s sister said: “I want to warn everyone else not to make phone calls when your mobile phone is recharging.”

Miss Ma, who was due to marry this month, was said to have bought her iPhone in December from an official store in her home town in Xinjiang province.

Her brother said the phone had been handed to the Chinese authorities for examination, while Apple said it had launched a full investigation into the claims.

In another incident earlier this year, New York marketing manager Shibani Bhujle claimed the battery of her iPhone 4S spontaneously melted, oozing acid that destroyed the handset. In January, firemen in Oregon blamed a fire in a block of flats on an overheated battery for an Apple MacBook laptop, which had dropped on to a mattress.

In November 2011, Apple recalled its iPod Nano music players amid fears that the batteries in older models were prone to overheating and catching fire. - Daily Mail

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