Samsung shares fell sharply on Monday, hitting a two-month low after the firm urged users not to use it and exchange devices due to fears it might catch fire.

The South Korean company's shares dropped more than 5% on Monday morning.

Samsung recalled 2.5 million phones last week after reports of the device exploding during or after charging.

Airline passengers were warned by US authorities not to use or charge the phones while on board.

Aviation authorities in several other countries and individual airlines have since then also banned the use of the devices on their flights.

The company has said it will replace all devices that were handed in from 19 September.

Samsung has said that battery problems were behind the phones catching fire, but that it was difficult to work out which phones were affected among those sold.

The phone was launched last month and has been otherwise generally well-received by consumers and critics.

(BBC)