The popular toy “Huoni” among young people in mainland China has raised safety concerns due to frequent accidents. On April 9th, the topic “Girl dies from electric shock while playing with Huoni” trended on social media platforms.
According to CCTV reports, in March of this year, a young girl in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, suffered an electric shock accident while playing with “Huoni” during the ironing process, and unfortunately passed away despite medical treatment. The specific cause of this accident is currently under investigation.
Incidents related to the “Huoni” toy are mostly concentrated in the ironing process.
A report mentioned that on April 7th, at the Guizhou Mechanical and Electronic Product Quality Inspection and Testing Institute, staff tested two popular Huoni toys purchased online. It was found that after being powered on for 3 minutes, the base plate temperature of both toys exceeded 130°C, and the temperature continued to rise with prolonged power on time.
Experts explained that both small irons in the two toys lack temperature control devices, and once plugged in, they continue to operate with uncontrolled heat, making them prone to causing burns. In addition, the toy electric irons do not come with stands. If children place them randomly and the heating body touches flammable or heat-sensitive items, fires may be ignited.
In mid-March, a girl in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, experienced an electric shock and fire from the small iron she was holding while playing with “Huoni” at home. Sparks flew, and the girl immediately unplugged the power, but her hand was burned.
The injured girl’s mother expressed, “After this incident, I feel quite scared and want to draw more attention from mothers to be more cautious when children play with this toy.”
The gameplay of “Huoni” involves arranging and combining colored plastic “beans” to create various creative pieces by fixing them through heating and ironing.
With frequent accidents involving “Huoni” toys, official targeted inspections found that some toy sets on the market come with small irons with an external voltage of up to 220 volts, far exceeding the standard voltage limit of 24 volts for toy power supply.
Apart from the toy irons not meeting safety standards, professionals indicate that during the heating process, if kept in a closed space for a long time, the toxic gases emitted by “Huoni” such as acids, esters, unsaturated hydrocarbons, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, carbon monoxide, could also pose health hazards.
As concerns grow over the safety of “Huoni” toys, authorities are taking action to address the issues and ensure the well-being of children during playtime.