'Fry-OS 8' iPhone BLEW UP MY PANTS wails roasted Johnson

A bloke on Long Island, New York, claims an iPhone 5C exploded in his pants, putting him in hospital for 10 days with second and third-degree burns.

Incredible, isn't it? Someone bought an iPhone 5C. Apple has told The Register it is investigating the pocket bomb allegation.

Erik Johnson, 29, who works as an escalator and forklift repairman, was on his way to the wake of his cousin in New Jersey on February 14. When he bent over to pick up some keys, the iOS 8-powered iPhone (pictured above) in his front pocket went berserk, Johnson claims.

"All I heard was a pop, and it started fizzling, and it just started to burn my leg," he told local radio station WCBS 880, which broke the story.

"It went to a pretty much instant burn, it didn't even warm up; it just went straight to burn. And the only way I could get the phone away from me was to rip off my pants to get the phone out."

His brother rushed him to a nearby hospital, and the toasted Johnson was sent to the Staten Island University Hospital burns unit. After 10 days of treatment for serious burns, Johnson was released to his home and requires daily nursing help.

"You don't expect something like this to happen, never," he said. "It's still hard to grasp the concept of this happening."

Johnson told CNN that he had no plans to purchase another phone at the moment, but his lawyer Mike Della said that after hearing nothing from Apple on the case, he and his partners were treating the iPhone as a dangerous device.

"Now, every single time I have my iPhone, instead of putting it in my pocket, I put it in the seat next to me because of this case," Della said. "My wife does the same thing, and so does everyone else at the [law] firm. It's a little scary. You shouldn't have to worry about your phone exploding,"

Della said that Johnson purchased his iPhone 5c last year, and said it had no add-ons although it appears to be in a case. The lawyer added he plans to sue Cook & Co.

"First and foremost, we have to find out how this happened and prevent it from happening ever again," he said. "That's the whole goal here. Is the product safe?" ®

Photo credit: Sophia Hall/WCBS 880