Apple said Monday that it will investigate claims that an iPhone may have electrocuted and killed a 23-year-old woman in western China, only months after the company's warranty policies attracted the ire of Chinese media and regulatory groups.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported over the weekend that Ma Ailun, a former flight attendant, died after answering a call on a charging iPhone.
The report — along with the social-media postings of Ma's relatives — quickly went viral in China, the second-largest market for Apple iPhones. A local investigator told the Wall Street Journal that the woman suffered "an obvious electronic injury."
It is unclear whether the phone was to blame. China's consumer safety agency has warned of an electrocution risk from unregulated mobile-phone chargers, which are common in China.