AUSTRALIA - A sleeping woman midflight was startled to find her battery-operated headphones had caught fire leaving burns on her face.

According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, it is unknown how severe the woman's injuries were, but she later told investigators that she heard a loud explosion while she was sleeping.

“As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face,” the woman was quoted as saying in a statement from the agency. “I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck."

The woman threw the headphones on to the ground while they continued to spark and emit flames. A flight attendant soon appeared with a bucket of water to pour on the fire, she told investigators. 

The headphones were then placed in a bucket near the rear of the plane.

According to a statement from the agency, the battery and cover were both melted and stuck to the floor of the aircraft.

The smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and charred hair filled the aircraft for the remainder of the flight causing the passengers to cough and choke the entire way home. 

The ATSB confirmed the batteries within the woman's headphones caught fire, but the agency did not specify the type of headphones or batteries.