A Chinese man has suffered 90 per cent burns, undergone multiple surgeries and amputations after his roommate's electric bike battery exploded. The man, identified as Du Junhao, a third-year student at Wuhan City College, in central China's Hubei province, had his condition exacerbated as the roommate fled the spot at the time of the incident and locked the door behind him.
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the incident took place last year when Du rented a flat with his schoolmate, Li Jiajun, to work part-time jobs. Li rented an electric bike for Rs 3,500 (300 yuan) a month to work as a delivery driver. Despite Du telling Li multiple times not to charge the battery at home, the latter continued to do the same.
"One day, at 6am, the battery caught fire and emitted toxic gas. Li, who was sleeping closer to the main door of the flat, ran out in time," the report highlighted.
Surveillance footage accessed by the authorities showed Li running in the hallway towards the fire extinguishers before he returned and shut the door while Du was still inside. Such was the door's mechanism that it was automatically locked as Du struggled to get out. He was locked behind for half a minute, which was enough for the fire to cause major damage to his body.
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Apart from the burns, Du's respiratory tract was damaged, which kept him in critical condition for some time. Two of his fingers in the left hand were amputated, and he could not speak for a few months.
Hailing from a middle-class family, Du's family had to seek donations from social media users. So far, the family has spent Rs 3.2 crore (2.8 million yuan) on his treatment, plus other daily expenses, having raised Rs 3.04 crore (2.6 million yuan) from the online community.
While Du initially thought of giving up on his life, he has since changed his mind, seeing his family doing all they can to save him.
"My life is not just mine," he said.
Li was arrested by the police on the charge of negligence causing injury, which carries a maximum of three years in prison.
