A five-year-old boy has died after becoming trapped in a moving travelator at a ski resort in northern Japan, local media have said.
The victim, Hinata Goto, died on Sunday after his right arm became trapped in the walkway’s winding mechanism during a family skiing trip to Otaru, a city on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido.
Firefighters had freed the unconscious boy, who was wearing ski wear and boots, from the mechanism about 40 minutes after receiving an emergency call from his mother, the Asahi Shimbun said, adding that he was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.
Hinata, from the nearby city of Sapporo, reportedly fell as he was trying to get off the 30-metre-long walkway, which connects the resort’s car park with a ski slope, the Kyodo news agency quoted police as saying.
Although the “snow escalator” enables skiers to comfortably ascend the slope, the accident has prompted criticism of its design. The Asahi said the walkway, installed six years ago, is only 60cm wide and does not have handrails.
In addition, officials at the Asari ski resort told Kyodo that its safety mechanism appeared to have failed after the boy’s mother pressed the emergency stop button.
The mechanism, which is triggered when a foreign object becomes trapped, had worked during a routine inspection earlier in the day, according to Kyodo. Media reports said no staff members were on duty near the travelator when Hinata fell.
A representative of the resort apologised for the accident, while police in Hokkaido launched an investigation, which media reports said could result in charges of professional negligence resulting in death.
A man in his 70s who visits the resort regularly described the travelator as “scary”. He told Kyodo that changes in the angle of the slope cause the conveyer belt to shake, adding that he had also stumbled while travelling on it.
A man who works near the popular resort told the Asahi: “Many children use the resort to practise skiing. I hope there will be a proper investigation and measures to ensure something like this never happens again.”
