Woman dies after getting stuck in baggage carousel at major airport

It is unclear why the woman was in the area at that time

The Chicago Fire Department was called to the city’s O’Hare Airport at approximately 7.45am on Thursday to a report of a woman ‘pinned in machinery’.

A 57-year-old woman was declared dead at the scene by Paramedics after Firefighters said she was trapped in the conveyer belt system at Terminal 5.

A spokesperson from the Department of Labor clarified that the victim was not a worker at the airport.

Chicago Police said surveillance video shows her entering the employees-only area just before 2.30am meaning her body wasn’t discovered until five hours later.

The area is restricted to employees and though it is said to be secure it is not a high security area.

The conveyer belts in this section of the terminal bring luggage to and from national and international flights.

Police have not released the identity of the woman to the public or confirmed her reasons for being at the airport.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the area has been declared a crime scene and handed over to investigators.

It is the latest of a series of worrying airport deaths to happen in the last 14 months at US airports.

On New Years Day, a man breached a security door at Salt Lake City International Airport and crawled into a plane engine whilst the aircraft was not running. He was later found unconscious and despite best efforts of first responders died.

In June last year, a San Antonio International Airport employee was sucked into a plane engine as it was taxiing to the gate and died.

A similar incident occurred in Iran in July this year when a mechanic went back for a tool and got sucked into the engine.