Dell Laptop Explodes At Japanese Conference
The Dell laptop computer seen bursting into flames in photographs on the internet
was being examined as part of the company's probe of the incident.
"We have captured the notebook and have begun investigating the event," Dell
spokeswoman Anne Camden said, confirming the computer was made by Dell but
declining to specify the model. No one was hurt in the incident, she said.
The report of an exploding laptop at a conference in Osaka, Japan, accompanied
by digital photos, was first published on technology industry news website The
Inquirer last week.
The website said a reader named Gaston sent in the photographs.
"The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five
minutes," Gaston told the site.
Dell in December 2005 issued a battery recall for some of the batteries in its
laptop due to overheating issues, according to the company's website.
Camden said it was too early to draw any conclusions and added that it did not
appear that the incident had anything to do with the battery issues related to
the recall.
"From here it's going to be a very methodical and meticulous process to figure
out what happened," Camden said.
