New Samsung Note 7 forces airplane evacuation

A Southwest Airlines flight was evacuated on Wednesday, apparently after a Samsung device caught fire. Around 75 people, passengers and crew members, were forced to leave the Baltimore-bound plane in Louisville, Kentucky, after the overheated Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone started emitting smoke.

No one was injured, airport authorities said.

According to the family who owned the phone, it was a replacement sent to them after a string of fires and property damage caused Samsung to issue a universal recall. Local media reported that Brian Green of Indiana noticed his phone making a popping noise before catching fire as he was shutting it down. He said Samsung had shipped it to him only two weeks prior.

The South Korean tech giant issued a statement saying it was working with authorities to confirm the authenticity of Green's claim and the cause of the problem.

"Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note 7," the company said.

Samsung, the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, was forced to recall 2.5 million of its main Note 7 phones last month when it emerged that faulty batteries were causing the devices to emit smoke. As a result, several airlines have banned the use of this particular model on their flights.

es/bw (AP, Reuters)