An investigation is ongoing after a woman was killed in a freak accident involving a baggage claim conveyor belt inside a restricted area of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Airport staff were inspecting the baggage handling area of Terminal 5 around 7:45 a.m. Thursday when they discovered the woman’s body, Fox 32 reported.
Investigators said the woman, believed to be 57, was wearing flip-flops and entered the restricted area just before 2:30 a.m. Fire officials said she was found tangled in a conveyor belt used to transport packages.
According to the Associated Press, security camera footage only shows her walking into the scene, but does not show how she died.
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Firefighters found a woman dead after becoming entangled in machinery in a private baggage-handling area at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Thursday. (FOX 32 Chicago)
The woman was pronounced dead at the airport.
Police and firefighters responded to the scene and said that while the area was not tightly secured, no passengers were expected to be there.
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A woman was killed after being caught in the baggage claim conveyor belt as she headed to her gate at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. (iStock)
Chicago police are investigating the incident.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released the woman’s identity or cause of death.
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It is unclear how or why the woman entered the restricted area. (Andrew Woodley/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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It’s unclear why the woman was at the airport, but authorities told Fox 32 they don’t believe she was an airport employee.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Fire Department for comment on the incident but has not yet heard back.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
