A toddler slipped past security and got lost in the maze of luggage conveyor belts in Newark Liberty International Airport, say officials.
The two-year-old child crawled onto a conveyor belt at a JetBlue ticketing counter on the departures level inside the airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed.
Officials managed to intervene moments before the child was about to pass through the luggage X-ray machine, according to The New York Daily News.
Quick-thinking officers with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey jumped onto the conveyor belt to chase after the child.
David Grizzle, the former chief operating officer and head of air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration, told NPR that Newark has grappled with decades-old staffing and technology issues.
"It's extremely dangerous," Keith Jeffries, the vice president for K2 Security Screening Group, told ABC News.
"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."
Police officers assigned to Terminal A responded immediately and tracked down the toddler, who was uninjured, and found the child in the checked baggage room on the lower level.
Emergency Medical Services officials were requested as a precaution, and the child’s parents declined further medical attention following the incident.
Newark Airport refused to comment on the incident.
The child’s mother had reportedly been attempting to rebook a JetBlue flight when the child slipped out of sight and into the luggage labyrinth, according to The Daily News.
Officers Angel Paulino and Joe DeSilvio with the Port Authority leapt into action. They jumped onto the conveyor belt to follow the child after being alerted by a concerned JetBlue employee.
The frantic search lasted less than five minutes, according to a statement from the Port Authority.
An official social media post on the incident read: “Two Port Authority cops rescued a toddler who wandered onto a luggage conveyor belt in Terminal A, Newark Liberty International Airport.
“The cops, realizing the danger the child was in, without hesitation, entered the conveyor system and, after about four minutes, located the child who was headed for an X-ray machine.”
It has been a tumultuous few weeks for Newark officials after several incidents caused havoc at the airport.
Last month, there was pandemonium on the concourse after hundreds of flights were cancelled and many faced delays following an incident when air traffic controllers experienced a radar and communications blackout.
There were no accidents, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later confirmed that the outage lasted for only 30 seconds.
One of Newark Airport’s runways under construction is set to reopen Monday, 13 days ahead of schedule, reports CBS News.
The Independent contacted JetBlue and Newark Airport for comment.
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