Doctors Will Try to Reattach Woman's Leg After She Loses It in Horrific Moving Walkway Accident
A traveler in Thailand lost her leg Thursday in a freak accident on an airport’s moving walkway.
The incident happened at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
“Footage from security cameras at the airport’s domestic terminal shows the passenger collapsing at 8.30am after being hit by a suitcase while on the walkway between departure gates four and five,” according to Asia News Network.
“Her leg got stuck on the edge of the conveyor belt after she collapsed,” the news service reported.
“Graphic images published in Thai-language media, and on Facebook, show a young woman in [agonizing] pain struggling to free her leg from a conveyor belt.”
The victim had been planning to fly from Bangkok to Nakorn Sri Thammarat.
WARNING: The following video contains images that some may find disturbing.
A medical team attempted to free her left leg from the device before resorting to amputating it above the knee, the New York Post reported.
The woman was rushed to Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital, but she was later transferred to Bumrungrad International Hospital, which expressed confidence that her leg could be reattached, the Straits Times reported.
Airport director Karun Thanakunjeeraphat said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that the moving sidewalk, or “travelator” has been in use at the airport since 1996.
“He said the system has not been updated and its sensors are different from those found on newer travelators,” according to the report.
The device was reportedly manufactured by the Japanese company Hitachi.
The walkway has been closed so engineers can investigate the cause of the accident, the director said.
The spokesman said the airport has been planning to replace several old travelators by 2025, “but may speed up the replacement process now.”
“The airport management expressed their sympathies to the victim and said they would pay her medical bills as well as compensate her for the partial loss of her left leg, a post on the airport’s Facebook page said,” the Strait Times reported.
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