Baby dies on airport luggage belt

A baby has died at a Spanish airport after it was placed on a luggage belt, which suddenly started moving.

The five-month-old baby was at the baggage claim as Alicante airport with its American mother and Canadian father after a flight from London, reports the AFP.

Tragically, the luggage belt started moving without the parents noticing and, despite resuscitation attempts, the baby is believed to have died when it became trapped in rollers.

“The five-month old baby was on the belt. I don't know if it was placed on it directly, or in a cradle," an airport spokeswoman told the AFP.

“It was about two o'clock in the morning, on the belt for retrieving special baggage, where children's push chairs and large items come out which was activated when the parents were not looking.

“The airport medical service tried to resuscitate the baby but they could not do anything."

Police are investigating but a Civil Guard spokesman added: “It all appears to have been an accident, a case of carelessness.

“The mother left the baby on the conveyor belt, which can be activated by detecting weight or by an airport employee.

“It seems that the baby carrier's weight activated the belt and the child was trapped in the rollers in the drop zone.”