Qantas passenger suffers burns after power bank explosion
A Qantas passenger was taken to hospital with burns after a lithium power bank in his pocket caught fire and exploded.
It happened inside the Qantas business lounge at Melbourne Airport.
He was taken to hospital for treatment to burns on his legs and fingers, and later released.
According to other passengers in the lounge, the man was potentially spared more serious injury due to the swift action by lounge staff.
Staff rushed him into a shower and paramedics then took over.
One passenger told the media there was ‘battery acid flying everywhere.’
It caused a lot of smoke, prompting the lounge to be evacuated.
It was cleaned and the lounge reopened about two hours later, Qantas said.
Qantas said it is reviewing its policy for carrying lithium batteries, which include portable USB power banks.
Several airlines have tightened rules on power banks due to several incidents on flights.
This includes a fire on a Virgin Australia flight from Sydney earlier this year.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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