A man pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large chain necklace has died, police said.
The man, 61, had entered an MRI room without authorisation while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon (local time) at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by his metallic necklace, according to the Nassau County Police Department.
Police said the incident “resulted in a medical episode” that left the man hospitalised in critical condition.
He was pronounced dead from his injuries at 2.36pm Thursday at a hospital, police said today in an update.
A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment today.
MRI machines “employ a strong magnetic field” that “exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetisable objects”, according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room”.
– Additional reporting by 1News