Overview
- Local media identified the victim as Hinata Goto, whose right arm was caught in the winding mechanism near the exit of the 30‑meter conveyor at Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort in Otaru.
- Firefighters dismantled parts of the machine and freed the child about 40 minutes after his mother’s emergency call, but he was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
- Hokkaido police have opened an investigation, and the resort said it is cooperating after issuing an apology over the fatal incident.
- Resort officials said the automatic cutoff designed to stop the belt when an object is trapped did not activate and that the boy’s mother pressed the emergency stop, though the system had worked during a check earlier that day.
- The outdoor conveyor, installed about six years ago, is roughly 60cm wide with no handrails, and regular visitors had previously voiced safety concerns; no staff were stationed by the unit at the time.