Overview
- Local police and firefighters said the child fell while trying to step off the moving walkway that links the car park to a ski slope at Asarigawa Onsen in Otaru.
- Firefighters received an emergency call from the boy’s mother around 10 a.m., and rescuers dismantled part of the equipment to free him when staff could not do so.
- The victim, identified in reports as Hinata Goto of Sapporo, was unconscious when taken to hospital, where his death was confirmed.
- Resort officials said the automatic emergency-stop did not trigger during the entrapment and that the boy’s mother pressed the manual stop button, though the sensor had worked during a routine check earlier.
- Media reports described the travelator as about 30 meters long, narrow and without handrails, with regular visitors saying the belt jolts at slope changes, and police have launched an investigation that could lead to professional negligence charges.