Boy, 5, dies after arm gets trapped in ski lift

The resort issued an apology

The incident happened in Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The five-year-old-boy, identified as Hinata Goto, is reported to have fallen near the top of the lift, which carries skiers on a conveyor belt up a slope.

His right arm reportedly got caught in the machine which winds up the conveyor belt after skiers exit. The machine then operated for several seconds until the emergency stop button was hit by the boy’s mother.

Firefighters had to break open the machine to release the boy after they were called to the scene, at around 10am on Sunday.

However, the boy had lost consciousness and was pronounced dead once he was taken to hospital.

According to officials, the escalator has a safety mechanism that stops it when something gets caught, but people at the scene told Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that the emergency mechanism failed to activate.

An apology has been issued by a representative of the resort, who said that said action will be taken to prevent any more such accidents.