Samsung’s popular smartphone explosion burns Hong Kong

An exploding Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone burst into flames, burning a Hong Kong couple’s house to a crisp, according to media reports Wednesday. The man, identified in the original Xianguo.com report only as Mr. Du, claimed that his phone, battery, and charger were all legitimate Samsung products, but that's now difficult to confirm since his home and everything in it were destroyed. Du said that he sat on the living room sofa playing the game "Love Machine" on his charging Galaxy S4 when it suddenly exploded. In the heat of the moment, he threw the device onto the couch, which caught fire. The flames then spread to the curtains and the rest of the house. Du’s neighbors were evacuated as firefighters fought the flames. Almost all of the couple's furniture and appliances burned to ash, the news site said. Although a fire department investigation initially resulted in a report of "no suspicious circumstances, the true cause of an entire house fire was the smartphone remains to be seen.” Samsung told Xianguo that it will "carry out detailed investigations and tests to determine the cause of the incident."