Apple Store Evacuated as iPhone Battery Overheats

An Apple Store in Switzerland had to be evacuated after an iPhone battery overheated and began smoking.

According to the Daily Mail, the incident occurred at an Apple Store in Zurich, Switzerland after an employee removed a battery from a phone. The battery overheated, burning the employee’s hand, before it began smoking. Staff immediately called police and evacuated around 50 people from the store.

“There was a slight build-up of smoke, which led to around 50 customers and employees having to leave the business temporarily,” Zurich police said in a statement. “The staff responded well and correctly. It sprinkled quartz sand over the overheated battery so that the smoke could be contained and sucked out after switching on the ventilation.”

The battery is currently being studied by specialists from the Zurich Forensic Institute to determined what caused it to overheat.

Seven people received medical treatment following the incident, but nobody needed to be hospitalized as a result.

Apple, which has faced backlash and lawsuits after it admitted to purposefully slowing down older phones, has not yet commented on the incident.