Five-year-old boy dies after getting caught in ski travelator

A five-year-old boy in Japan has died while on a ski holiday with his family after his arm caught on a travelator.

On Sunday morning Hinata Goto was about to step off the travelator at a Hokkaido resort’s ski slopes when he fell down and his right arm became trapped in the machinery, Japanese media reported citing police.

The travelator was equipped with a safety mechanism, but it failed to activate. The machine only halted when the boy’s mother hit the emergency stop button.

Rescue workers spent 40 minutes dismantling part of the travelator to free the boy, who by then had fallen unconscious. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Staff at the Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort in Otaru said that the travelator’s safety mechanism, which was designed to immediately halt operations if it detected that an object was trapped in the machinery, had worked earlier in the day.

Police are investigating the incident to assess whether there was any professional negligence, such as in the manufacturing and maintenance of the travelator.

Installed about six years ago, the travelator is about 30m (98 ft) long and 60cm (24 in) wide, with no hand rails. It connects the resort’s car park to the ski slopes.

Japanese media quoted other visitors saying that they have stumbled while using the same travelator.

“Even as an adult, there are times when I think, ‘It’s a little scary’,” a regular customer told Asahi Shimbun.

A representative of Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort apologised for the incident and said they will take action to prevent a recurrence.

Hokkaido is known to be the ski capital of Japan and welcomes millions of visitors every year, with the bulk of them staying during the winter months for ski holidays.