Hinata Goto: Five-year-old boy dies after getting arm caught in Japan ski travelator
A five-year-old boy tragically died after a horrific incident happened to a tourist who was skiing outdoors in Japan.
Hinata Goto was on vacation with her family at the Hokkaido ski resort when the tragedy occurred on Sunday morning local time.
According to local media reports, the child fell to the ground as he was about to get off the travel vehicle and his right arm got stuck in the machine.
It is believed that the safety mechanism on the stroller malfunctioned and the stroller belt continued to rotate for several seconds and only stopped when Hinata’s mother pressed the emergency stop button.
The boy slowly lost consciousness as emergency crews worked feverishly to dismantle the mechanism to save him. The rescue effort by local police and fire officials lasted 40 minutes before Hinata was taken to hospital.
Tragically, he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident at Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort in Otaru and whether there was any negligence.
It turned out that the handrail connecting the car park to the ski slopes was approximately 6 years old, approximately 30 m long and 60 cm wide, and did not have railings.
Japanese media reported that other visitors also said they had experienced problems with the machine before.
“Even as an adult, there are times when I think, ‘It’s a little scary,’” said one regular customer Asahi Shimbun.
Kensuke Tamagawa, the ski hill’s general manager, said no staff were near the escalator when Hinata was stranded.
Workers were not assigned to wait near the escalator for safety reasons; instead, if there was a problem, other personnel, including snow plows, were expected to rush to the scene.
Tamagawa also said that workers check whether the safety mechanism is working properly every morning.
The spokesperson of the ski resort located in Hokkaido, Japan’s ski capital, apologized to the local media for the incident and said they would take action to prevent a recurrence.
