Vietnamese Teen Le Thi Xoan Passes Away Due To Electrocution From Frayed iPhone Charger; Phone Left On Charging Overnight

Ramish Zafar

It's a sad day in the tech world today. News about high end gadgets malfunctioning often makes headlines. The biggest such story in recent times is Samsung's Galaxy Note 7. 2016 was the perfect time for Seoul to gain a strong foothold in the high end mobile market. Innovation had slowed down at Apple and 10nm processors, edge-to-edge display's weren't the norm. But, malfunctioning batteries on the Galaxy Note 7 led to the device being declared a public safety hazard. Today, we've got somewhat similar news, but this time the end user is at fault. This leads to a devastating outcome.

14 Year Old Dies In Taiwan Due To Electrocution From Frayed iPhone Charger, According To Police

14 year old Le Thi Xoan went to bed just like every other teenager. And like every other teenager, she probably used her iPhone before going to sleep. Before going to sleep however, Le plugged her iPhone 6 in for charging. Next morning, her parents found her unconscious in bed. They rushed her to the hospital but doctors were not able to revive her and pronounced her dead.

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Upon investigating, police found the frayed charger at her bedside. It's believed that Le rolled over on to the faulty equipment while sleeping, and was electrocuted as a result. Emergency medics also confirmed to local media that electrocution is the reason behind her death. The cable, which you can see below, is already wrapped with tape. This suggests that Le knew her charger as faulty but decided to use it anyway.

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Police aren't sure whether the cable she used is an original Apple one or is manufactured by a third party. Dozens of local teens visited a memorial set up in her honor. On her Facebook page, friends and family expressed their love and condolences. While instances that involve malfunctioning iPhones due to third party accessories aren't that rare, it's very rare to come across a loss of life from such combinations.

Just goes to show how vulnerable tech really is. All our devices are is a complex mixture of chemicals, ready to malfunction at a moment's notice. For Le Thi, that moment resulted in her death. Sleeping next to charging gadgets isn't advised by any experts, but people often fail to take heed. In Le's case, it's something that her parents will regret for the rest of their lives.

News Source: Asia One

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