Hundreds of shoppers at a Texas mall had to evacuate on Monday afternoon when a hoverboard exploded and caught fire, witnesses said on Twitter.
Photos and a video shared by shoppers at the Deerbrook Mall in Humble, Texas showed flames shooting out of a hoverboard box next to a large plant that sat between two kiosks on the mall's first floor.
The #HoverboardFail is real! #abc13 viewer shared this #hoverboard burning at Deerbrook Mall. pic.twitter.com/D0SL7ywph6 via #abc13— Miya Shay (@miyashay) December 28, 2015
A hoverboard caught on fire at Deerbrook Mall. We'll have more info on #KPRC2 at 4. Photo courtesy of Lexi S. pic.twitter.com/uaBKJT7IAi— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) December 28, 2015
A security worker was photographed putting out the flames with a fire extinguisher, as a yellow, acrid smoke filled the space.
Pics from inside #deerbrook mall after #smartboard explodes. Gathering information as we speak #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/0CUBPYH0U4— Josh Chapin (@JoshChapinKHOU) December 28, 2015
One witness told a Houston-area news website that the toy was simply sitting on the shelf when it "just started exploding" while still in the box. "The worker at the kiosk threw it to the ground and then the fire began," the witness told NewsFix Houston.
The board was being sold by a kiosk named Xcel Toys & Games. The small retailer sells a type of hoverboard known as a "smart balance wheel," which are produced by a company named Miberi.
It wasn't immediately clear if that was also the hoverboard that caught fire. Messages sent to a spokesperson for Deerbrook Mall were not returned.
Some at the mall said shoppers at first thought the sounds they heard were gunshots, leading to a momentary panic that disrupted the post-holiday shopping bliss.
Just had to evacuate Deerbrook Mall due to gun shots being heard... It was a fcking hover board exploding. I hate society.— Madi Lucas (@MADIxLUCAS) December 28, 2015
So a hoverboard exploded at @DeerbrookMall today.... @abc13houston @KHOU @KPRC2 @Fox26Houston pic.twitter.com/bhI9bT83oH— Diana (@xdianapaola) December 28, 2015
lol a hover board caught on fire & they evacuated deer brook mall — katelyn (@Katelyynnnn_) December 28, 2015
**I survived the Deerbrook mall hover board explosion and evacuation of 2015** #neverforget— Caroline Moorman (@CarolineMoorman) December 28, 2015
Hoverboards have been seemingly been exploding left and right this holiday season (one caught fire on Sunday at a family's home in New Jersey).