Mother whose leg was amputated by Bangkok airport travelator takes her first steps

A mother whose leg was crushed by a faulty airport staircase has taken her first steps after it was amputated.

The 57-year-old woman walked to a hospital today with the help of two physiotherapists and a frame following the horror injury at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 29.

It comes as police are demanding that the owners of Airports of Thailand cooperate with an investigation into the incident after they refused to give officers CCTV footage of what happened.

The woman was walking down the escalator when her leg “fell through an opening” and was dragged down, severing her muscles, tendons and bones, according to witnesses.

Paramedics amputated her leg at the airport and she was carried on a stretcher while her limb was placed in a foam box and taken into an ambulance.

Her son Kittirat said she complained ‘it’s like being a child learning to walk again’ and has vowed to sue the airport over the allegedly poorly maintained escalator.

He added: ‘My mother has been walking for 15 minutes and has to practice every day. It’s very encouraging.

“She’s still as beautiful as ever, despite everything that’s happened. I hope she runs faster than me soon.’

Airport bosses admitted the automatic walkway used by tens of thousands of people every day was to blame, as three bolts holding the metal surface plate the woman stood on suddenly gave way.

But Police Colonel Adirek Thongkaemkaew, chief of the Don Muang city police, said the owners of the airport had still not provided CCTV footage of the incident.

Mr Thongkaemkaew added that he would “keep repeating the CCTV requests” as the force collected witness statements.

Paramedics amputated her leg at the airport and she was carried on a stretcher while her limb was placed in a foam box and taken into an ambulance.

Her son Kittirat said she complained ‘it’s like being a kid learning to walk again’ and has vowed to sue the airport

Staff at Don Mueang International Airport – which on the other hand has a separate military terminal used by the country’s king – closed all 20 automatic walkways after the incident.

The country’s other airports also began frantically checking their devices for fear of similar mishaps.

Karan Tanakuljirapat, director of Don Mueang Airport, claimed that the walkways were regularly maintained and that they would be replaced by newer models by 2025.

A spokesperson for Don Mueang Airport said: “The director of Don Mueang Airport and management visited the patient to follow up on treatment and received information from the medical team at Bhumibol Hospital that she is currently being treated by the medical team. . .

“Don Mueang Airport is deeply saddened by the incident and willing to fully accept responsibility and take care of the medical expenses and compensation.”

Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) serving Bangkok opened in 1914, but was replaced as the country’s main airport in 2014 by the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) on the outskirts of the city.

Don Mueang International Airport staff closed all 20 automatic walkways after the incident

The director of the airport, Karan Tanakuljirapat, claimed that the walkways were regularly maintained and that they are scheduled to be replaced

The state-owned Airports of Thailand (AOT) runs the facility, and the company is said to be “the most valuable airport operator in the world” due to the country’s popularity as a tourist destination and its burgeoning domestic economy.

A similar incident happened in 2019 when a passenger’s rubber Crocs were dragged against an escalator at the same airport. The victim said that if he had not removed his shoe in time, his foot would have been cut off.

A number of other people reported similar complaints about the ‘deadly stair climbers’ after the last accident.

Earlier this year, an 11-year-old schoolboy suffered a fractured jaw after his head was caught between a balcony and an escalator while riding the moving staircase of a subway station in Russia.

Video shows frantic efforts to free Misha after his head and hands got stuck between the escalator and an overhanging glass wall next to it.

Misha had gone up the escalator with his father when he rested his head on his hands on the moving rail, not seeing the danger of an unsafe design.

Video shows frantic efforts to free Misha after his head and hands got stuck between the escalator and an overhanging glass wall next to it

The 11-year-old was pulled under the overhanging structure and became trapped near the metro station in Okroezhnaya, a northern suburb of Moscow.

First his arms were pulled in, then his head got stuck while the rest of his body was being trimmed.

The boy’s frantic father tried to pull him out but failed, and passersby also tried to help.

The escalator kept moving, making it more difficult to save the anguished child.

According to reports, the escalator was eventually shut down and emergency services were able to free the boy and paramedics rushed the boy to hospital.

Misha suffered multiple fractures, including a dislocation of the lower jaw, as well as head injuries and severe bruising.