[imagesource:pickpik]

On Wednesday, another person died after ‘falling’ into the spinning engine turbine blades of a departing passenger aircraft at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

The freak death occurred on the apron outside the teeming hub’s terminal as a KLM flight was preparing to depart for Billund in Denmark. The Netherlands airport is one of the world’s busiest.

“A fatal incident took place at Schiphol today during which a person ended up in a running aircraft engine,” the Dutch flag carrier, KLM, said in a statement. “Sadly the person has died.”

The statement added that the circumstances are currently under investigation, per Al Jazeera. The victim has not yet been named and it is unclear whether the individual was an airport employee or a passenger.

Passengers and crew members were on board when the person landed up in the spinning turbine blades, with witnesses describing a “hellish noise” as the person was sucked into the jet turbine, per Newsweek.

“It all happened so fast,” a passenger told Dutch media. “We were about to take off when suddenly everything stopped, and we saw emergency vehicles rushing to the plane.”

An insider told Dutch newspaper AD that the incident was “very intense,” adding that after the plane was pushed back to take off, someone walked into the engine.

Those who witnessed the incident were evacuated for the investigation to commence.

The horrific incident shook the country, prompting Dutch Minister for Infrastructure Mark Harbers to express his condolences:

“Terrible news about a fatal accident today at Schiphol. My condolences go out to the relatives of the victim and the people who witnessed the accident.”

The ‘Koninklijke Marechaussee’ Royal Military Police confirmed the death and stated that all passengers and employees of the flight had disembarked and were being cared for. KLM also confirmed the fatality and mentioned they are assisting passengers and employees with psychological support.

Safety and security measures are strict at Schiphol and accidents are rare at the busy airport, which handled about 5.5 million passengers last month alone, according to airport figures.

[source:aljazeera&newsweek]