Horror as toddler found riding baggage conveyer belt at embattled airport
A two-year-old child was discovered riding a baggage conveyer belt from a ticketing desk to a luggage at an airport marred with multiple problems.
The toddler snuck behind a JetBlue ticketing counter at Newark Liberty International Airport while his parents weren't looking, and onto a conveyer belt where baggage are checked in.
He rode the conveyer belt to the checked bag room on the lower level of the airport in New Jersey on Wednesday, according to officials.
As soon as adults realized the small child was missing, two officers with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the airport, jumped on the belt.
'The two cops were able to move fast into the system, which was vital,' Port Authority Police PBA President Frank Conti told Pix11.
'There was a split in the belts. One officer went toward one direction, one toward the other direction.'
An officer then saw the toddler approaching an X-ray unit.
He was rescued and unharmed, but medical responders examined him to make sure.
The situation was 'extremely dangerous,' said Keith Jeffries, who is vice president for K2 Security Screening Group.
'You've got diverters back there that are actually these gigantic pushers or levers, if you will, that will shove those bags down the appropriate conveyor belt, and that alone can be fatal for a small child,' he told ABC News.
The toddler was rescued more than nine months after a 57-year-old woman was found dead after getting tangled up in a baggage claim conveyer belt at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
The terrifying incident happened at the airport that has made national headlines in recent months for having many canceled or delayed flights due to a shortage of air traffic controllers and runway construction.
On more than one occasion, controllers lost radar communications with planes for about 90 seconds.
The issues lead to United Airlines, which has Newark airport as a hub, to cut back numerous routes going in and out from there.
On Monday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the runway at Newark that was closed for repairs had reopened two weeks ahead of schedule.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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