Samsung phone emits smoke mid-air; gadget dunked into water

The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, July 4, 2017.Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji

South Korean tech company Samsung's nightmares are not over yet, as the controversy that hounded the brand in the previous year has resurfaced.

Samsung suffered publicity nightmares after the Galaxy Note 7 reaped negative comments and feedback in 2016. This was because the units of the mentioned model were reportedly exploding and burning. This had caused a massive recall of the product and meant a horror for the PR of the company, which had denoted loss of sales. The alleged explosions of the units were traced to defective batteries.

Recent releases from the Korean giant have been more stable, but the same battery issue still seems to be present in some of its models. According to a report by Hindustan Times, another Samsung device had caught fire mid-air, forcing the crew of the plane to submerge the unit into water. Arpita Dhal had been aboard the plane for 15 minutes when she noticed that her bag under her seat was emitting smoke.

Dhal immediately called the attention of the flight's crew. The incident had caused terror and panic among the 120 passengers aboard the Delhi-Indore Jet Airways flight 9W 791 on Oct. 20, Friday. Dhal and her husband divulged that a Samsung J7 was among the three cell phones in Dhal's bag. Frightened of the incident, the couple had also submerged the other two phones in water after the fire extinguishers on board failed to stop the smoking.

The couple then slammed the airline company for having fire extinguishers that did not work. Dhel expressed concern over future possible fires that might not be put out because of the defective extinguishers.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the airline said that the crews had taken "necessary steps" of the situation. The official added that the mobile phone had to be confiscated for an investigation.

A Samsung India representative said that they were gathering information about the incident. "At Samsung, customer safety is top priority," the spokesperson added.