Son shares horror of seeing mother’s LEG which amputated after getting caught in airport travelator

The son of a woman whose leg was mutilated by a moving walkway at a Bangkok airport described his horror when he saw her amputated limb in a foam box.

The 57-year-old Thai passenger was scheduled to board a flight from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat at the airport’s Terminal 2 yesterday.

But in a freak accident, she tripped over her pink suitcase before her left leg was caught in the mechanism at the end of the escalator. The airport’s 20 escalators all remain closed today.

Her son Kittirat described the “heartbreaking” incident, saying: “The officers held a foam box with her leg as they got out of the ambulance.

“It was separate from my mom who was in the wheelchair. It’s a feeling I can’t really explain.’

Surgeons at the city’s Bumrungrad International Hospital have reattached the limb but say it is unlikely she will ever regain the use of her left leg.

Her family is now consulting doctors before deciding how to proceed with the surgery.

Her son continued, “My mom’s morale is at a worrying level. We had the opportunity to chat with her before and after surgery as she was still in a clean room.

“She showed strength in both her facial expressions and tone, but we knew deep down in her heart that she was broken because she suddenly lost her leg.

“I must admit that my family’s main concern right now is my mother’s state of mind and my mother’s long-term condition.

“We know we can’t get my mom’s legs on track, or even get her life on track.

“The family has asked the doctor to consider organizing a team of psychologists to help my mother process what is going on.

“My mother cried, not because of the pain, but because she couldn’t imagine life with one leg.

“The family is still praying for my mom’s surgery. We hope there are no signs of infection and it will be her last surgery.’

Her family is now demanding that the airport release CCTV footage of the bizarre accident.

Kittirat said, “We avoid talking to her about the incident at Don Mueang Airport as much as possible and leave it to airport stakeholders to investigate the cause. The family hopes that the investigation will be transparent and fair.’

Sources said the force of her fall caused her leg to dive through the end of the mechanical walkway.

She cried out in horror as her foot caught in the metal opening as the machinery churned through her muscles, tendons, and bones.

Onlookers tried to turn off the emergency switch as the machine continued to tear through her flesh, spewing blood onto the metal rails.

Paramedics amputated her leg on the spot at the airport to free her from the escalator before she was carried on a stretcher – with her foot in a foam box that was loaded into the ambulance.

Karan Tanakuljirapat, director of Don Mueang airport, has ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

A suitcase lying next to her was missing two wheels, and the yellow comb-like plates had broken off from where they typically cover the edge of the tire where the moving walkway ends.

In a statement, the airport said: “The director of Don Mueang Airport and management have visited the patient to follow up on treatment and have received information from the medical team at Bhumibol Hospital that she is currently being treated by the medical service. 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 in 2006 by the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) on the outskirts of the city.

The state-owned Airports of Thailand (AOT) owns 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.

However, as you walk through the airport’s arrivals and departures areas, the building seems to be stuck in a 1970s time warp, with little reinvestment, renovation, or upgrades – despite receiving huge sums each year from fees that charged to airlines and tourist receipts.

Manufactured by Japanese company Hitachi, the walkway was installed in 1996, the airport director said, adding that there is a plan to apply for budget to move to a newer model in 2025.

A similar incident happened in 2019 when a passenger’s rubber Crocs were sucked into 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.

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