Boy, 5, dies after arm gets trapped in ‘magic carpet’ at Japan ski resort
The boy’s arm entered part of the conveyor belt’s winding mechanism at Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort in Hokkaido (Picture: Kyodo)
A boy has died after getting caught in an outdoor escalator on a Japanese ski slope in front of his mother.
The five-year-old, named locally as Hinata Goto, reportedly fell near the top of the lift, which carries skiers on a conveyor belt up a slope in Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort, on the island of Hokkaido.
His right is said to have been caught in the machine which winds up the conveyor belt after skiers exit.
It continued to operate for several seconds until his mother managed to hit the emergency stop button.
Emergency services were called to the scene at around 10am on Sunday, and firefighters had to break open the machine to release the boy.
Goto had fallen unconscious by this point and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Ski resort officials have apologised for the tragedy
Officials said the escalator is designed to have a safety mechanism that stops it when something gets caught.
People present at the scene told Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that the emergency mechanism failed to activate.
Kensuke Tamagawa, general manager of the ski hill, told the newspaper workers are supposed to check the mechanism is working every morning.
A representative of the resort has since issued an apology and said action will be taken to prevent any more such accidents.
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