Phone Battery Explosion Victim's Battery Not Original

The welding technician killed in a mobile phone battery explosion in Gansu Province has been confirmed to have been using a Motorola cell phone, but with a battery not included with the original package.The Star Daily reports sources with the local administration of work safety as saying that, since the phone battery was not a Motorola battery, public security staff are investigating the identity of the as-yet unidentified battery manufacturer.Motorola's Beijing press officer Yang Boning also told the newspaper that preliminary investigation results show that it is almost impossible for a cell phone to have caused such an explosion. Nonetheless, Motorola is actively cooperating with relevant departments in conducting the investigation.In an interview with the Lanzhou Morning Post on Wednesday afternoon, Vice Director Chen Gang with Jinta County's Administration of Work Safety said the death of the 22-year old welding technician Xiao Jinpeng has been defined as a 'production safety incident' occurring at work.The family of the deceased has been paid 130 thousand yuan in compensation by the Yingpan iron smelting plant in Jinta County, Gansu Province, where the victim used to work.At midday on June 19, an unusually warm day, welder Xiao's mobile phone exploded in his chest pocket while he was welding. He was immediately rushed to hospital, but died later despite all rescue efforts.The mobile phone used by the technician was purchased by his relative from an out-of-town store, and is currently undergoing tests.The investigation team responsible for tracing the explosion's cause concluded that this is not the first mobile phone explosion incident, but certainly the first to have killed a phone user in China.Since there is no regulation in China to cope with mobile phone explosions, Chen Gang says much trouble exists regarding how to deal with this specific incident.Meanwhile, the mobile phone instructions fail to specify that a welding technician cannot take his mobile phone with him to work.The official has urged government departments to set up specific regulations concerning compensation for such mobile phone explosions in future.