Spark have notified customers of the first reported case of a Samsung Galaxy Note7 exploding in New Zealand.

The first case of a defective Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exploding in New Zealand has been reported to Spark.

It comes after Samsung issued a statement on Tuesday urging customers to switch their Note 7 devices off, before finally announcing it was killing off the phone altogether.

Spark's chief executive of mobile Jason Paris said the customer brought the phone into a store on Tuesday afternoon, after it had overheated and caught fire.

CRUSHADER/REDDIT Reports of fires - as seen here - in replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones have added to the tech giant's worst ever recall crisis.

"We’ve been talking with the customer and have confirmation that he is safe, unharmed and that there has been no damage to any physical property."

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Paris extended a warning to other Note 7 customers and requested they return their phones to a Spark store.

RADIO NEW ZEALAND Samsung has permanently discontinued production of its Galaxy Note7 phones because the phone - and its replacements are prone to bursting into flames. Rene Ritchie from 'i More' says part of the problem is the way Samsung has mis-handled the fault is contributing to the fall out.

"We strongly urge anyone with a Note 7 to immediately back up, turn off, remove their SD and SIM cards and return their replacement Note 7 devices to any Spark store

"For their safety, it is very important that our customers do this as soon as possible."

In New Zealand, Vodafone, 2degrees and Spark had already halted replacing Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, prior to the announcement, in accordance with an earlier directive from Samsung.

In a tweet on Monday evening, Spark stated it was "pausing" the replacement of the fire-prone handset following "a precaution from Samsung".

Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday it was stopping production of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones permanently, a day after stopping global sales of the ill-fated devices amid reports that batteries were catching fire

The South Korean company said in a regulatory filing that it decided to stop manufacturing Note 7s for the sake of consumer safety.​

Authorities in the U.S. and South Korea are still investigating why even the replacement Note 7 phones that Samsung equipped with a safer battery are catching fire. An official at the South Korean safety agency said the replacement phones may have a defect that is different from the problem with the original Note 7s.

Samsung's shares plunged 8 percent Tuesday in Seoul, their biggest fall since the 2008 financial crisis. And that was before it announced it was discontinuing the Note 7.

Vodafone, Spark and 2degrees are now all offering refunds to customers who have either original or replacement Note 7s.