An Apple iPad has exploded in Australia, forcing staff and customers to be evacuated from a Vodafone store.
With a range of iPhone handsets having been reported to have burst into flames in Asia in recent weeks and months, reports out of Australia have now suggested an iPad combusted while on display in a Vodafone store in Canberra this week.
Said to have occurred on this past Wednesday, November 6, a Vodafone spokesperson has been quoted as stated that “a burst of flames” appeared for the iPad’s charging port.
After the initial combustion, the fire brigade was called and the store evacuated as the shop became filled with acrid smoke and sparks and flames continued to lick out from the iPad’s power connector.
Although an image of the exploding iPad has been released, the damage is so extensive that it is not possible to determine exactly what model of Apple’s leading tablet had been on display within the store.
While Apple has yet to formally acknowledge that the iPad burst into flames, Australian news outlet News.au has claimed that shortly after the incident, an Apple representative visited the affected store to collect the damaged iPad for testing.
The image of the damaged iPad has suggested that the fire was extensive, with all plastic work from the tablet appearing to have melted away, leaving only a tarnished screen and the metal casing of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and Google Nexus 10 rival.
Given the last year’s move to the new connectivity type, it is believed that the affected iPad utilised Apple’s Lightning port charger.
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