5-year-old boy trapped in Hokkaido ski resort walkway died of suffocation
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Hinata Goto, a preschooler from Sapporo, died as a result of his clothing tightening around his neck.
PHOTO: KYODO NEWS
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SAPPORO – A five-year-old boy who died after getting trapped in a moving walkway
Hinata Goto, a pre-schooler from Sapporo, died as a result of his clothing tightening around his neck after his right arm was caught in the travelator at the ski resort in neighbouring Otaru at around 10am local time (9am in Singapore) on Dec 28, according to the police.
He was trying to get off the autowalk, which connects the facility’s parking lot and ski slope, when the accident occurred. Rescuers pulled him out about 45 minutes later, but he was confirmed dead at a hospital.
Officials at the resort have told Kyodo News that the walkway’s emergency stop function failed when the child became trapped.
The function, designed to stop the travelator automatically if a foreign object gets caught, had worked during a routine inspection earlier in the day, according to the officials.
The police are investigating the accident as a possible case of professional negligence resulting in death. KYODO NEWS
