MADRID, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of 12 people needed treatment after a mobile device exploded in the Madrid Metro on Monday morning, a spokesperson for the Madrid Emergency Services confirmed.
Among the 12 people, three were treated for smoke inhalation after the mobile device exploded inside a passenger's rucksack at the "Principe de Vergara" metro station in downtown Madrid at 9:15 a.m. local time.
There was slight confusion about information of the device as the Spanish National Police said it was a portable computer, while the Municipal Police tweeted: "a passenger's mobile phone exploded and burned the bag in which she was carrying it."
It appeared the battery of the apparatus produced a "small explosion" in the rucksack, forcing the lady to throw the bag onto the floor. Another passenger attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher kept in the coach.
The created smoke caused panic inside the coach."We couldn't breathe. People started to hit the doors, but they wouldn't open," one witness was quoted by the El Pais newspaper as saying.
Emergency services, including the fire brigade, ambulances and members of the National Police quickly rushed to the scene.
The Madrid Metro interrupted services between the stations of Sainz de Barranda and Avenida de America, but trains were again running normally just half an hour after the incident.
