A tragic incident occurred at a ski resort in Hokkaido after a 5-year-old boy died when he fell on a moving walkway and his right arm was pulled into the machinery. It was revealed that the automatic emergency stop system did not function, forcing the boy's mother to run and press the stop button herself, while the resort admitted there were no staff monitoring the incident site.
The heartbreaking event happened on 28 December at Asari Ski Resort in Otaru city, Hokkaido, Japan, when five-year-old Hinata Goto, a kindergarten student from Sapporo, died tragically after an accident while using a conveyor-type moving walkway with his family.
Reports stated that Hinata, dressed in full ski gear including skis and boots, was on the moving walkway connecting the parking lot to the ski area with his mother. Nearing the walkway's end, he fell, causing his right arm to be pulled into the machinery housing at the walkway's terminus. The boy's mother called emergency services around 10:00 a.m. Rescue workers took over 40 minutes to extract the unconscious child, who later died at the hospital.
Initial investigations uncovered troubling issues. The ski resort management stated that normally, if a foreign object becomes lodged in the maintenance cover at the walkway's end, the safety system should automatically stop the machinery. However, on the incident day, this safety feature failed, and the machine only stopped after the boy's mother manually pressed the emergency stop button.
Kensuke Tamagawa, the ski area's general manager, admitted to local media that no staff were stationed at the moving walkway during the incident because the resort does not have a policy of assigning personnel specifically to monitor this area for safety. Instead, other staff, such as snow removal workers, are called in to assist if irregularities occur, despite daily morning safety system checks.
Asari Ski Resort is a popular ski area near the Asarigawa Onsen hot springs and is located just 7 kilometers from Otaru train station. It attracts numerous Japanese and international tourists, especially during the year-end and New Year holiday period.
Currently, Hokkaido police are urgently investigating the cause of the safety system malfunction and are examining whether the resort showed negligence in this matter.
/sourceTHE ASAHI SHIMBUN