5-Year-Old Boy Dies in Japan Ski Resort Walkway Trap

A five-year-old boy died after his right arm became trapped in the machinery of a moving walkway at a ski resort in northern Japan on Sunday, December 28, as his family watched in horror.

Hinata Goto, a kindergarten student from nearby Sapporo, was skiing with his family at Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort in Otaru, Hokkaido, when the accident occurred around 10 a.m. Police and firefighters reported that Goto fell near the exit of the travellator, a conveyor-belt-style lift that transports skiers from the resort's car park to the slopes. His arm got caught in the belt's turning mechanism, and the device continued operating for several seconds until his mother activated the emergency stop button.

Emergency responders arrived quickly but faced challenges in freeing the boy. Firefighters dismantled a section of the roughly 100-foot-long, 24-inch-wide walkway, which lacks handrails, in an effort that lasted approximately 30 to 40 minutes. By then, Goto had fallen unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.

The travellator, installed six years ago, is equipped with a safety mechanism designed to halt operations if an object becomes caught. Resort...