Boy Dies after Becoming Trapped in Escalator in Hokkaido

Tokyo, Dec. 29 (Jiji Press)–A 5-year-old boy died after becoming trapped in an escalator at a ski resort in Otaru in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, according to local police. Around 10 a.m. on Sunday, the boy’s mother called for an ambulance reporting the accident. According to the Hokkaido prefectural police department, the escalator where the accident occurred is located outside, connecting a parking lot with ski slopes. It is shaped like a conveyor belt with no steps on the part where people stand. The boy, Hinata Goto from Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital, fell near the exit of the escalator and his right arm became trapped in the belt’s turning section, police and fire authorities said. He was trapped for around 40 minutes before being taken to hospital unconscious, where he was pronounced dead. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]