Seoul 11 Oct (ANA) - South Korean tech giant Samsung has urged owners of the Galaxy Note 7 to turn off its high-end smartphone while it investigates new reports of the device catching fire. The firm also said it would stop sales of the phone, and halt production. Samsung recalled 2.5 million phones in September after complaints of exploding batteries, and later insisted that all replaced devices were safe. But there are now reports that even those phones are catching fire. A man in Kentucky said he woke up to a bedroom full of smoke from a replaced Note 7, days after a domestic flight in the US was evacuated after a new device started emitting smoke in the cabin. "Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while the investigation is taking place," the company said. "Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note 7 or replacement Galaxy Note 7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available," it added. As late as Monday evening a spokeswoman insisted the phones were safe to use. But on Tuesday the company said it would stop Galaxy Note 7 production. "We recently re-adjusted the production volume for thorough investigation and quality control, but putting consumer safety as top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s," it said. South Korean media reports suggest the company is likely to stop selling the phone permanently. The problems for Samsung come at a crucial time for the firm. "Samsung had been making a comeback against its rivals. This catastrophic product fault will seriously damage its competitive position in the smart phone market," correspondents say. (ANA)

FA/ANA/11 October 2016-----