Salzburg man injured

“Scooter exploded right next to me”

David Berger suffered burns and now needs crutches.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

David Berger plugged in an electric scooter to charge in his apartment in Salzburg. Just a few moments later, the vehicle exploded. 

"I'm still in pain, but I'm halfway there with the tablets." David Berger's left leg is bandaged, as is his right knee. The 24-year-old needs crutches to walk for the time being. "And yet I'm glad that everything ended so lightly," he breathes.

What happened? On Thursday, an e-scooter suddenly caught fire in his apartment in Salzburg-Taxham - the "Krone" reported.

Berger was charging the scooter's battery when he suddenly heard a loud crack. "I immediately unplugged the scooter and it started smoking," says Berger. Then everything happened very quickly: the scooter ignited within seconds. "There was a jet of flame and a small explosion!"

The 24-year-old now had only one thought. He was determined to prevent his entire apartment from burning down. "At first I wanted to get a fire extinguisher from the hallway, but that would have taken far too long," emphasizes the man from Salzburg.

Thrown from the balcony into the courtyard
Berger acted with presence of mind, opened the balcony door and threw the burning scooter from the fourth floor into the courtyard of the apartment building. "Of course, I made sure beforehand that there was nobody downstairs," he smiles. The 24-year-old suffered burns to his legs and a finger during his daring action.

The fire department extinguished the burning scooter and cooled the device down. The scooter exploded in an apartment in Salzburg.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Charging a scooter outdoors? "Impossible for me"
The fire department was able to extinguish the e-scooter. "It was a brand-name device and still almost as good as new. Unbelievable," says Berger angrily. He now wants to hold the manufacturer responsible. In any case, he himself is not aware of any culpability: "Our house has almost 200 apartments. I can't charge the scooter outside, it's just not possible."