A passenger was seriously injured in an accident on a moving walkway at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok. The woman, whose identity was initially unknown, fell on the escalator on Thursday before her flight to Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper, citing rescue workers. The protective cover opened, pulling the woman’s left leg into the inner mechanism. Doctors would have had to amputate this above the knee at the airport.
According to media reports, the woman was later transferred to a well-known private clinic. This informed that it was possible to sew the leg back on, reported the news site “The Thaiger”. The newspaper “Khaosod” quoted the son of the accident victim as saying that his mother had been operated on. However, there are now fears that dangerous infections or necrosis could develop. More details about the surgery were not known. The family is still awaiting footage from airport security cameras to understand exactly what happened, the son said.
The airport authority Airports of Thailand (AoT) immediately ordered a security check for all of the airport’s autowalks. Also known as “flat escalators” or “travelators,” the treadmills are designed to help passengers move faster through airport terminals. AoT announced that it would cover all of the woman’s treatment costs. The airport director emphasized that the relevant autowalk had only recently been checked as part of regular routine maintenance.
According to the information, the roller conveyor was installed in 1996 and comes from the Japanese manufacturer Hitachi. Don Mueang is the smaller of Bangkok’s two airports. It mostly serves short trips.
