US-based mobile phone manufacturing giant Apple Inc. is investigating a case where a 23-year-old flight attendant with China Southern Airlines was electrocuted and killed when she took a call on her iPhone 5 while it was charging. The incident happened last Thursday, July 11, 2013, when Ma Ailun was killed by an electric shock when she received a call while the phone was charging.
Apple Inc. released a statement which read, “We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family. We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter”. However, the company refused to discuss more details, including if this was an isolated case or not.
Ma?s sister tweeted on Sina?s microblog and said that Ma collapsed and died after she was using her iPhone 5 and warned other users to be careful with their devices. In April 2013, Apple apologized to its Chinese customers and altered warranty policies of iPhone.
The Chinese market is the company’s second-biggest market and warranty policies were altered by the company after its after-sales service was affected with more than two weeks of condemnation by the state-run media. Since this controversy became public, Apple has been engulfed with queries regarding the incident.
