Andhra Pradesh: Women Techie Suffers 80% Burns After Her Laptop Explodes

She was critically hurt when the explosion sparked the fire, and the bed she was sitting on caught fire. 

Laptop On Fire (Photo: ABP Desam)

Hyderabad: A software employee was seriously injured after her laptop exploded in Mekavaripalle in B. Koduru zone of YSR district on Monday.

Sumalata, a software employee, was charging her laptop to work when it suddenly caught fire and exploded, reported ABP Desam. The laptop was burnt due to a short circuit as she was working on it from the comfort of her bedroom while plugging it in for continuous power. She was badly hurt when the explosion sparked the fire, and the bed she was sitting on caught fire, according to the report. 

Family members rushed the injured Sumalata to a private hospital in Kadapa. As per the doctors, she has reportedly suffered 70-80 per cent burns. At present, the health condition of the young woman seems to be stable. 

Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, tech companies have yet to summon their employees back to work. To run day-to-day operations in some cities, software companies have chosen a hybrid strategy. The majority of techies continue to work from home, and they must keep their laptops plugged in to avoid battery loss.

However, these facilities are limited to the homes of employees. It is summer, so power outages, voltage fluctuations, sun exposure, and other factors can affect laptop performances. 

According to Gizmodo, laptop batteries can explode because of a normal-use process called thermal runaway. Thermal runaway can lead to an explosion when there is a problem causing the battery to produce more heat than it can handle.