Watch: Bus passenger's power bank explodes, setting her on fire

HONG KONG - A bus passenger in southeast China had a terrifying experience recently when her portable power bank exploded in her face, according to a local media report.

Footage of the incident, which was captured by the vehicle’s surveillance camera, shows the woman, who was sitting on the back seat with a friend, was briefly engulfed by a ball of flames, Thepaper.cn reported.

After the blast she leaps to her feet, flaps at the flames with her arms, then races towards the front of the bus.

By the time she reaches the driver’s area, the fire appears to have gone out, but the woman takes no chances and dumps the device on the floor before running away to safety.

Meanwhile, the unfazed driver calmly looks down at the smouldering device, picks up his fire extinguisher and gives it a few blasts, the footage shows.

Concerned it might still be a hazard, however, he then stops the bus, opens the door and kicks the offending device out into the street.

The film of the incident, which happened on June 20 in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, has been widely shared online.

Lo Kok-keung, a former engineering professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, warned people of the dangers of carrying and using power banks, saying they could explode for a number of reasons, such as a short circuit, loose connection or ageing battery.

The incident in Fujian was the second such blast on a bus in recent weeks. Earlier in June, a man in Guangzhou had a similar fright when a power bank he had in his backpack exploded. – SCMP