E-scooter battery k!lls man

An e-scooter k!lled a man after exploding into flames and trapping him inside his apartment.

A faulty lithium-ion battery set the scooter ablaze shortly after 3.30am on Wednesday in a second-floor apartment in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, said the New York City Fire Department (FDNY).

The fire and heat from the e-scooter were so strong that they blocked a 69-year-old man from exiting his unit, according to FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn.

Another man, 35, and a woman, 32, who were also home tried to put out the fire – which is not recommended when it involves a battery.

‘They attempted to extinguish the fire (and) they were able to escape with minor injuries,’ Flynn told the New York Post, adding that they were both hospitalized.

‘There were two children as well that self-evacuated that did not sustain injuries.’

The blaze was extinguished around 4.30am, after more than 60 firefighters and emergency responders tended the scene.

A smoke detector had been taken out of the apartment, officials said.