Teen dies after dropping her phone in bathtub while calling a friend
Topics: Technology, World News, Phones
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/John Keeble
Topics: Technology, World News, Phones
A 16-year-old girl sadly lost her life after she dropped her cell phone in the bathtub while calling a friend.
Maria Antonietta Cutillo is thought to have been home alone at her parent's house in Montefalcione, southern Italy, when she decided to take a bath.
The teenager got into the tub but wanted to continue using her phone, which was low on battery.
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Cutillo plugged her phone into a nearby port and is thought to have used it over the side of the tub to call one of her friends.
During the call, Cutillo suddenly cut out and the line dropped, causing the friend to become concerned.
She called the emergency services and reported what had happened, prompting authorities to respond to the scene at the Montefalcione home.
When they arrived, they found Cutillo had tragically been electrocuted.
It's believed the teenager dropped her phone into the water, causing her to get electrocuted as the charging wire made contact with the liquid.
Cutillo's body was taken to the morgue of the Moscati hospital in Avellino in the wake of her death.
The 16-year-old is far from the only person to have lost their lives as a result of similar incidents.
In 2017, a 32-year-old man in Britain died after his iPhone charger made contact with the water at his home in west London.
In response to the incident, charity Electrical Safety First issued a warning about some of the dangers that can come with having electrical appliances around water.
Steve Curtler, product safety manager, told the BBC that while you would not get electrocuted from an unplugged phone landing in the water, the risk increases if the device is plugged into the mains.
"Although the cable that is plugged in to your phone is 5V, somewhere along the line it's plugged into the electricity supply and you're reliant on that cable and a transformer to make sure you don't get into contact with the main voltage," Curtler explained.
He described taking charging devices into the bath as an unnecessary risk, adding: "You're wet, which conducts electricity a lot better; you're in the bath with no clothes on, so skin resistance is less. You're vulnerable in the bathroom."
Public health advisor Sheila Merrill agreed, saying: "People need to be aware of taking an electrical appliance into the bathroom...
"You're risking death. Electricity and water don't mix, but particularly with phones, people probably don't always think about it.
"It's not advisable to use them while they're plugged in, particularly in a bathroom situation."