Can not remove batteries from SU2200RM3U

[Anonymous user]

Hello there!
Like most, I joined for help. Hopefully as I learn more about UPS, I will be able to help others as well.
My question:
One of my SU2200RM3U started beeping showing a bad battery a couple of days ago. I re-arranged the load in order to free it up, shut it off and ordered some replacement batteries. 5 days later I got the batteries and when I was pulling the bad batteries out, the pulling plastic on the bottom of the first battery snapped. (Thank you APC for not using something less prone to get brittle.) After 30 minutes of struggling, I was able to remove the battery *2 mm*, so I gave up and decided to open it up. After I took off the top plate I saw that one of the batteries of the first pack is deformed and the main female plug is preventing it from sliding off. Now, I started to remove the contacts of this charging plug to see if after I remove it can slide off but before I go any further I wanted to check for some extra information regarding when dealing with deformed batteries as I have not found any advice regarding the specific on the User Manual or during a quick search on the web. Meaning can they explode, expel some toxic fumes off, leak etc?
A fellow tech advised me to take the unit off and tip it over, well there is a bar that can prevent the batteries from falling but IF I can do that, wouldn't this be dangerous? Any thoughts would be much appreciated! 😉
Thank you,
Virginia Ramunda