First responders amputated a woman’s leg Thursday after it got caught in a travelator at an airport in Bangkok, Thailand, CBS News reports.
The 52-year-old woman was heading to board a southbound flight from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport to Nakhon Si Thammarat province when her left leg caught in the moving walkway in Terminal 2, according to CBS. A medical team of responders had to amputate the trapped leg above the knee.
Airport director Karun Thanakuljeerapat expressed his “deepest condolences” on behalf of the airport. “I’d like to insist that we will ensure that no such accident will happen again,” he said, CBS reported. He added the airport will fully cover the woman’s medical costs and will be open for negotiations on other compensations, while the possibility of reattaching the woman’s leg in the hospital is reportedly still being explored at the time of writing. (RELATED: Delta Employee Dies After Reportedly Being ‘Ingested’ Into Plane Engine, Officials Say)
BREAKING: A female passenger at Don Mueang Airport lost her lower left leg after she fell down & sucked by a moving walkway after a luggage hit her. The accident occurred at 8.30am & passenger was supposed to board a flight to Nakhon Srithammarat & was rushed to hospital. pic.twitter.com/yQEfr7xpp7
— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) June 29, 2023
The walkway, engineered by the Japanese company Hitachi and installed in 1996, was closed and under inspection to determine the cause of the accident, the director said, according to CBS. Walkways at the airport undergo daily checks and monthly inspections, the director reportedly added. The airport plans to request a budget to update the walkway in 2025.
A passenger’s shoe was damaged from being caught in a travelator at a different terminal in the airport in 2019, according to CBS.