Video shows e-cigarette battery exploding in man's pocket leaving him with third degree burns

A man in Owensboro, Kentucky, was rushed to hospital with third degree burns after the battery in his e-cigarette suddenly exploded. CCTV footage shows the man standing in the convenience store when sparks and flames suddenly erupt from his pocket.

Josh Hamilton of Owensboro, runs out of the store and frantically tries to take off his burning trousers before a gas station employee douses him with a fire extinguisher. He was then rushed to a nearby hospital by another customer.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE BELOW

Hamilton shared a picture of his injuries on Facebook. In another post he described having "Third degree burns all up and down my leg".

An employee at the gas station told WFIE news that he originally thought Hamilton had a bomb in his pocket before realising what was going on.

It's not the first time someone has been hurt by an exploding e-cigarette. A man in Germany lost a number of teeth after his e-cigarette blew up in his mouth while he was inhaling. In July 2015, a man from Georgia, US fractured his neck and suffered third degree burns on his chest after his e-cigarette similarly exploded. "The next thing I know, it exploded and I was on my way to a hospital in an ambulance, and that is the last thing I remember," he was reported as saying.