An 18-year-old girl was killed when her mobile exploded as she chatted on it, her family claim.

Uma Oram was reportedly talking on the device as it was plugged in to charge.

She was taken to hospital after being knocked unconscious and suffering injuries to her hand, chest and leg.

Local media quoted her brother as saying that she had wanted to talk to an unnamed family member just after lunch but found that the phone had run out of charge, reports the Mirror. 

Her brother Durga Prasad Oram explained: ‘As the battery of the mobile phone was draining out, she plugged it for charging while talking over it simultaneously. 

‘The cell phone... was put on charging when she started talking to a relative. Its battery exploded suddenly.

‘Before we could know what exactly happened, Uma fell unconscious. She was declared dead at the hospital.’

He told local media that the phone was a Nokia 3110 but some media sources said it was a Nokia 5233 smartphone. 

Pictures show a damaged phone that looks like the 5233, released in 2010 and Nokia's cheapest touchscreen smartphone at the time.

The 3110 was a pre-smartphone model quite unlike the one seen in pictures taken after the incident.

The tragic incident took place at the family home in the village of Kheriakani in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

Police have reportedly visited the scene to gather statements and Uma's body has been sent for post-mortem.

A Nokia spokesman told Mirror Online: ‘We are very sorry to hear reports of the incident that took place in India on Friday involving a young woman, and our deepest sympathies go out to her family.

‘Local authorities are investigating the causes of this incident and we will provide an update when we know more about the outcome of the investigation.’