A baggage handler was killed when her hair became caught in a belt loader at New Orleans airport on Tuesday night, officials say.
Jermani Thompson, 26, was unloading bags from a Frontier Airlines flight on the tarmac at Louis Armstrong International Airport at about 10pm when her hair became tangled in the conveyer belt machinery, her employers GAT Airline Ground Support said in a statement.
Ms Thompson was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office will perform an autopsy in the next few days to determine a cause of death.
The tragic incident led to an outpouring of grief and condolences from family and the aviation companies involved.
Her mother Angela Dorsey told Fox 8 that Ms Thompson had been a college basketball star during her time at Hesston College in Kansas and Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
“I just can’t believe it, you know, my only daughter is gone,” Ms Dorsey told the news site. “She just told me ‘I see you when I come back’.”
GAT CEO Mike Hough said the company was “heartbroken and are supporting her family and her friends as best as we are able” in a statement.
4WWLreported thatthe company’s employee handbook stated that long hairstyles should be pulled back from the face and neck to avoid interference with the job.
Mr Hough said the company would not prioritise “on-time performance above safety”.
Armstrong Airport director Kevin Dolliole said “Jermani was a part of our airport family” in a statement to 4WWL.
“We will continue to support one another in any way we can during this trying time,” he said.
Frontier Airlines, who cancelled a flight on Wednesday due to the incident, said through a spokesperson their thoughts were with Ms Thompson’s family.
