Tourist loses leg in gruesome travelator accident at airport
The woman was walking to the gate when she fell over and her leg was wedged into the conveyor belt.
WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: Stunned tourists have captured the horrifying moment a woman had her left leg amputated after it was swallowed by a moving travelator at an airport in Thailand.
The unnamed 57-year-old passenger was due to board a domestic flight from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport to Nakhon Si Thammarat province when she tripped over her pink suitcase while standing on the device at around 8.30 am on Thursday (local time).
She had already checked in and was walking to the gate when she fell over and her leg was wedged into the conveyor belt, with the mechanism ripping through muscle, tendon, and bone.
Fellow travellers fumbled for the emergency switch as the machine continued tearing through her flesh. Graphic images show the woman sitting on the travelator with the majority of her left leg missing and blood on her pants and the metal tracks.
It's been reported by local media that airport officials confirmed a medical team who attended the scene were forced to cut off the tourist's leg from above the knee before taking her to the Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital for emergency treatment.
Airport authorities have ordered a probe to determine the cause of the freak accident. In the meantime, the travelator automatic walkway has been temporarily closed as an engineering team conducts an inspection and security checks.
Airport responds to freak accident
In a statement, the Don Mueang Airport said: "The director of Don Mueang Airport and management has visited the patient to follow up on the treatment and received information from the medical team at Bhumibol Hospital that she is currently in the process of receiving treatment from the medical team.
"Don Mueang Airport is deeply saddened by the incident and ready to fully accept the responsibility as well as take care of the medical expenses and compensation."
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The airport further said no flights were delayed due to the accident.
Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) serving Bangkok opened in 1914 but was replaced by the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) on the outskirts of the city in 2014.
Viral Press/Australscope
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