House fire in Hong Kong blamed on exploding smartphone

A Hong Kong man says his Galaxy S4 smartphone exploded while connected to its charger. setting off a fire that destroyed his home. The man, identified only as Mr. Du in media reports, said his phone, battery and charger were all legitimate Samsung products, China's officials Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. Officials said they could not confirm the man's claim, since his home and its contents were destroyed in the fire. Du said he was seated on a sofa in his living room playing a game called "Love Machine" on his charging Galaxy S4 when it suddenly exploded. He dropped the phone onto the couch, which caught fire, and the flames eventually engulfed his entire home, he told Xianguo.com. A fire department investigation initially resulted in a report of "no suspicious circumstances, [but whether] the true cause of an entire house fire was the smartphone remains to be seen." Samsung told Xianguo.com it would "carry out detailed investigations and tests to determine the cause of the incident."