A PART four Journalism student at the National University
of Science and Technology (Nust) was hospitalised after her cellphone exploded
in her handbag, leaving her unconscious.
file pic
The university yesterday confirmed that Miss Khanyile
Sithole was rushed to the United Bulawayo Hospitals after she collapsed
following the blast in a lecture room on Monday.
Investigations are still underway to establish what could
have caused the explosion although experts say mobile phones with faulty
batteries or charging systems can explode spontaneously.
Efforts to get comment from Miss Sithole were fruitless but
her classmates said the explosion startled most of them into seeking cover.
“We were all seated waiting for our lecturer to arrive when
we heard a loud pop. I thought the building was disintegrating. For a moment I
thought maybe all the widows had been shattered, only to see smoke coming out
of Khanyile’s handbag,” said one of her classmates.
“Khanyile was apparently more shocked than the rest of us.
She shot out of her chair and immediately collapsed. When the dust had settled
and we felt we were out of danger, some classmates took her to the campus
clinic where nurses referred her to UBH for treatment. We are still in shock
but we are happy that no one got injured during the incident,” said a student
on condition of anonymity.
Experts say phone explosions can be caused by defects in
manufacturing and usually it is batteries that lead to that.
“The common cause of battery explosion is when it is
over-charged. In a cell phone’s battery system, there are separators that
prevent two electrodes from connecting with each other. When the separators
don’t work properly, it is more likely that these two electrodes will touch one
another, and this will cause explosions,” reads a statement from an online
electronic company.
Contacted for comment, Nust director for marketing and
communications Mr Thabani Mpofu said Miss Sithole was stable.
“A part four student had an unfortunate incident after her
phone exploded in her handbag which had a bottle of perfume. There was panic among
students and she also suffered shock,” said Mr Mpofu.
“She was taken to UBH for treatment but we are happy to
report that she has recovered as she had collapsed following the incident. She
did not suffer any injury or burns just that her handbag was burnt after the
explosion,” he said.
Mr Mpofu said Nust clinic nurses resuscitated Miss Sithole
and referred her to UBH for further assessment.
“My comment would be to urge students to avoid carrying
perfumes in the handbags together with cell phones as we suspect that may have
caused the explosion. Sometimes when there are special occasions here at Nust
like the graduation ceremony we ask students and parents not to bring perfumes
as a combination of these may lead to an explosion,” said Mr Mpofu.
He however, said the institution was still to ascertain the
exact cause of the explosion. Chronicle
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