An iPhone 6 Plus belonging to a student at Rowan College at Burlington County in Pemberton, NJ exploded and caught fire in his pocket during class. There were no serious injuries, but the class was relocated for the day.
Darin Hlavaty told local news stations that just after his physical science class began, he felt a hot, burning sensation in his back pocket. Smoke, fizzing and popping sounds emanated from the pocket containing the phone, a witness said. Hlavaty grabbed the phone, threw it to the floor and kicked it away because on fire.
Hlavaty said the phone, which he had owned for about six months, had a small crack. At the time of the incident, the phone was not plugged in and its battery was dead.
In August, an Australian bicyclist, who was carrying an iPhone 6 in his shorts pocket, needed a skin graft to repair suffered third-degree burns he suffered when he fell and his phone exploded, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald.
This problem is not unique to Apple. In September 2016, Samsung recalled 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after reports that the smartphones were bursting into flames during the charging process. Lithium-ion batteries have also triggered explosions of “hoverboards” and E Cigarettes.
Sources:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/180542/20161003/iphone-6s-plus-explodes-in-students-back-pocket-burns-hole-in-his-jeans-report.htm
http://abc13.com/news/students-iphone-explodes-in-his-back-pocket-catches-fire-/1535128/