A disabled seven-year-old boy “could have been killed” after he climbed through a check-in desk at Stansted airport and was carried through its baggage handling system.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the incident took place on Easter Monday. The newspaper reports that the boy, who has Down’s Syndrome, “travelled horizontally for about 20 yards, was then deposited on another belt for a 15-yard downward trip and then switched to a third, at which point he went through an x-ray machine.”
He was then reportedly diverted in to a separate side channel, where baggage is hand-checked by security staff.
The boy, who was one of 32 disabled children flying with Ryanair to Lourdes, was unhurt apart from a graze on his face.
A spokesman for the airport reportedly said: “He did go through the x-ray machine but it only produces about a tenth of the rays you would have in hospital. He could, though, have been hurt much more seriously within the baggage handling system, or even killed. We are reminding everyone with anyone in their care, especially children, that they must keep an eye on them. I know the carers felt dreadful afterwards.” He added that the boy “rather seemed to have enjoyed himself”.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
