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Indian woman hurt by Nokia cellphone battery explosion

A pregnant woman suffered burns in eastern India after the battery of her Nokia mobile phone exploded minutes after she put the handset on charge, police said yesterday.

The Finnish phone maker warned last month in front-page advertisements in leading Indian dailies that some of its batteries were overheating after around 100 such incidents were reported globally.

The battery that exploded was, however from the firm's BL-D3 series, and not from BL-5C that Nokia recalled a month ago, police said.

"The injuries were not serious. She was discharged from the hospital after first aid," police official Ananda Sarkar said in eastern Kolkata city.

The battery -- purchased with the handset in 2004 -- blew up about 10 minutes after it was put on charge.

"I became nervous for a few seconds when the handset blew up triggering a ball of fire. Then I ran out of the flat," 30-year-old Kishori Saha said.

Nokia said the woman might be compensated.

"It was an isolated incident. I guess the battery was obsolete," said Sanjoy Jaiswal, floor manager at a Nokia care center.

"If we find that the handset, battery and charger are original, she would be compensated," Jaiswal said.

The Bl-5C batteries were manufactured by Japan's Matsushita Battery Industrial Co.

The product advisory issued by Nokia in August applied only to 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and last November.
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