A teenager died when she was zapped with a massive electric shock after falling asleep on top of her charging mobile phone following a shower.

Victim Khorn Srey Pov – a Chinese translator at the Sing Yon Kong Yik gold mining company in Kratie province, Cambodia – was found dead on top of the phone.

Earlier, the 17-year-old had showered and had plugged her phone into a charger and turned its torch light on.

Local officials declared she had died instantly in her sleep from a massive electric shock on 27th July.

Her death has provoked a social media debate on the safety of phone chargers.

One netizen said: “They should be having public awareness campaigns on how to handle electricity. I see people touching live wires on those transformer posts all the time, and unfortunate incidents like these happen often.”

While another said: “She had just showered, so perhaps she was still wet when she laid down atop that multi-socket thingamajig. Even if dry, though, not a good idea to have one of those in bed with you. Tragic.”

In 2013, Apple investigated the death of a woman in China who was reportedly electrocuted after answering a call on her iPhone while it was charging.

And in February, 18-year-old Angel Andrada was electrocuted and died after leaving the family dinner table to charge his phone in Argentina.

In Brazil, a two-year-old toddler died after getting an electric shock from a mobile phone charger last year.

Experts explain that the chances of someone being electrocuted by a charger is low.

But the risks grow if an incompatible or substandard charger is used, as they do not insulate correctly, resulting in fire, overheating or electric shock.