Apple store in Zurich evacuated as phone battery overheats

An overheated and smoking iPhone battery forced the evacuation of about 50 people from an Apple Store in Zurich on Tuesday.

Zurich police said the incident occurred as the repair worker was removing the battery, which overheated and burned his hand slightly.  

Seven people received medical treatment but did not need to be hospitalised after the incident at the store near Zurich’s central train station.

Staff at called police after noticing the smoke and sprinkled the battery with quartz powder, a statement from police in the Swiss city said.

‘There was a slight build-up of smoke, which led to around 50 customers and employees having to leave the business temporarily,’ a police statement said.

‘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.’

Specialists from the Zurich Forensic Institute were studying the battery to determine the cause of the incident, police said. 

Injured: Zurich police said the incident occurred as the Apple Store repair worker was removing the battery, which burned his hand (stock image)

Apple had no immediate comment beyond the police statement. 

This is only the latest controversy involving the batteries in Apple’s famous smartphones as it was revealed last month that the company are deliberately slowing the handsets down over time to ‘extend battery life’.  

On Thursday, Apple published an apology letter saying ‘We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down’.

The firm revealed it is slashing the price of a replacement battery, and planning a software upgrade which will show users exactly how much their battery has degraded.