The life of a 15-year-old boy in Russia’s Altai region was saved during a bear attack when his smartphone exploded in the animal’s face, the Metro.UK reported. The scary incident happened when the teenager and a friend were out in a remote area. When they spotted the predator closing in, the boy tried to escape by climbing up a nearby tree. But the bear was fast. It grabbed him, dragged him down to the ground, and began tearing into him with fierce blows and bites.

“I heard him scream, turned my head, and saw the bear already dragging him down from the tree, so I unleashed the dogs,” a man who witnessed the attack said, as quoted in the report.

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The bear sank its teeth directly into the boy’s mobile phone during the chaotic struggle, and because of the heavy pressure, the phone’s lithium-ion battery reportedly caught fire and exploded.

The bear, which was startled by the sudden blast, immediately released its grip and ran away into the woods.

“When the bear sank its teeth into the teenager’s buttock, his phone battery exploded in his pocket, scaring the animal off,” the witness added.

While the phone blast saved the boy, he was still left with severe injuries from the initial mauling and burns from the exploding device.

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“The patient arrived with multiple injuries to his head, scalp, facial bones and neck. These injuries presented the greatest challenge,” Sergei Kovyazin, chief physician of Biysk Central City Hospital, said as quoted by the media outlet.

His companion managed to get help, and the injured teenager was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

He was later flown to Moscow for specialised surgeries to treat severe wounds to his head, chest, and lower body.

The report mentioned that the attack had happened around 12 miles from the remote village of Solton, and the authorities were also trying to hunt down the bear.

“We’re doing everything we can and won’t stop until we’ve shot this bear,” Sergey Bundin, who is the head of the Belovodye hunting reserve, said as quoted.

Local authorities and wildlife officials noted that severe wildfires may have pushed the bear closer to human settlements.