Baofeng Exploding Batteries?

Following on from a previous post on the Blog about Baofeng chargers which were prone to overheating (LINK) I noticed this warning from Phillip Clark on Facebook:

"Safety warning!! BAOFENG

OK so I know some of you probably have some of these radios and some of you won't but I'll just warn you of my experience and you make up your own mind as to what you do with them lol.

I will start by saying that over the last 7-8 years I've used many of their radios and never had a problem. Value for money and performance is just great for what they are! So I bought two of the newer versions of the Baofeng UV-5R PLUS. 

Initially no issues when I bought them a few months ago, worked well and again awesome value for money.....

So late Wednesday evening I placed my radio as usual into its charging pod and nothing out of the ordinary happened. It indicated a red LED stating it was charging and when it turns green its charged and the charging process is cut off. I was then horrified when a massive explosion was heard and a literal 7 to 8 foot flame like a firework was shooting out from the radio!! I then smothered the lot instantly and threw the burning battery out of the window!

( Injuries were sustained from removing the battery from the floor and throwing it out the window)

This was the last concern on my mind because I know I needed to get it outside before it blows again. Sure enough about 5 mins of it sitting outside it blew up again only this time much more violently.

It's made a hell of a mess of my carpet, the radio and everything around it. From looking at it closer it appears that it was charging fine then the battery failed and literally blew off the back of the radio across the room where it landed on my carpet. You often hear about stuff like this on Facebook or TV etc. You never think it'll happen to you. Anyways I'm just giving you all the heads up and have messaged Baofeng directly to. JUST BE CAREFUL. This could of easily of been worse if I hadn't of reacted the way I did. Here are some pics of the type of radio it was and what's left!" - Phillip Clark on Facebook.

Photos of the radio:

    (Click To Enlarge)

Of course this is not a problem that is just associated with Baofeng, many other manufacturers have had problems with Lithium batteries even the giant tech company Samsung had well publicised problems with their smartphone batteries. The main thing is that you should not charge radios, phones and other items when you are not in sight of the charging process. You certainly should not charge anything while you are sleeping or out of the house.