A man in the Indian city of Mumbai died Saturday night after being sucked into a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, an accident that has sparked concerns about the chaotic and sometimes dangerous conditions in India’s government-run hospitals.
Maru died within minutes, his hand trapped against the machine by the leaking oxygen tank. He was freed and taken to the emergency room in 10 minutes but pronounced dead on arrival.
A postmortem report said he died from excessive air entering his lung, according to the Indian Express. Authorities are investigating the incident.
Three people – a doctor, and two hospital assistants – have been arrested on suspicion of negligence.
“It is a tragic incident and we will cooperate with police officials,” Ramesh Bharmal, the dean of Bai Yamunabai Laxman Nair Charitable Hospital, told NDTV news channel.
MRI machines work through extremely powerful magnets and radio waves that scan the body and give an image of internal tissue. When the machine is on, all metal objects must be kept away from it.
