(NEXSTAR) — A 9-year-old boy was uninjured after jumping onto a luggage conveyor belt and climbing into a baggage-sorting area at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Saturday.
The boy, who was traveling with a group of about 20 people, was returned to his parents “less than four minutes later,” officials with the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission confirmed in a statement shared with Nexstar.
The incident occurred shortly after 1 p.m. near the Delta Air Lines ticketing counter, according to the Metropolitan Airports Commission. A Delta employee quickly shut down the conveyor belt, but was “unable to stop” the boy from entering the bag-screening area.
Once inside, “the child moved onto another conveyor in the bag sortation room that was still operational” and rode it into the checked-bag screening area, officials said.
Airport police soon located the child and reunited him with his family.
Footage of the incident, obtained by Minnesota Public Radio’s MPR News, shows the boy crawling along the conveyor before hopping off in the sorting area. The boy’s group initially failed to notice he was missing, but “sprang into action” once they realized where he had gone, said MSP airport spokesperson Patrick Hogan.
“There was a lot of confusion because there were so many people in the group,” Hogan told MRP News.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission confirmed an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
“We are investigating the matter and will work with Delta Air Lines on options to help prevent a recurrence of the situation.”
