An
Apple iPad reportedly exploded in a
Vodafone store in Canberra, Australia earlier this week, causing the building to be evacuated. A demonstration model used by the carrier at the store apparently caught fire at the charging port, as well as ejecting smoke and sparks, though it is not entirely clear what generation of iPad was at fault.
News.com.au reports that no-one was hurt during the incident, and that an Apple representative visited the store to collect the device in order to investigate what exactly caused the incident. It was not revealed what generation of iPad was involved, nor if a
third-party charger was used.
There have been a number of battery and charger-related incidents concerning smartphones and tablets this year. In July, a woman in
China died after attempting to answer a call on her still-charging iPhone 5, with Apple stepping in to investigate what caused the electrocution. A South Korean man was injured in February after the battery in his
Samsung Galaxy Note exploded, causing second-degree burns to his right thigh, while a similar, separate incident for a
Galaxy S III battery in Switzerland was later found to have been caused by an unofficial after-market version.