A woman in Zunyi, Guizhou, was left fighting for her life after suffering an electric shock while using her mobile phone as it was being charged at home.
The incident occurred on April 28, when the woman, identified only by her surname Sun, was lying on a sofa watching videos on her phone while it was plugged in. She said her feet were resting on a nearby heater when she suddenly felt a surge of electricity.
“I suddenly felt the phone ‘charge up’, and then my whole body froze. I couldn’t move at all and completely lost control,” she recalled. She said the electric current travelled from her hand through her body to her feet, forming a circuit before exiting.
The ordeal lasted for several minutes, during which she was unable to call for help or move. She was eventually discovered by her cousin, who quickly unplugged the charger and rushed her to hospital. At the time, she was bleeding from the mouth and had lost partial consciousness.
Doctors treating her said it was the first time they had encountered such a case in person, having only previously seen similar incidents online. She was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for emergency treatment before being transferred to a general ward the following day.
Although she has since been discharged, she continues to suffer serious injuries from the electric shock. Medical reports revealed burn marks on her right palm where the current entered, as well as exit wounds on her left foot. She also sustained injuries to her lips and tongue, and will require a skin graft procedure for her hand.
Sun later revealed that she was not using an original charger or cable at the time of the incident. She has since urged the public to use certified accessories and avoid using mobile phones while charging to prevent similar accidents.
