A 2-year-old boy briefly went missing at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday before being found on a conveyor belt that carries baggage to a sorting area ahead of loading onto planes, in an incident that has prompted a police review.
The incident was first reported by Channel 12 on Saturday. According to the report, the family was checking in for a flight to Larnaca, Cyprus, when they realized their child had disappeared.
The parents searched the area without success and alerted police, who began putting procedures for a missing child at the airport into effect.
Several minutes later, the toddler was located further down the baggage conveyor belt, at the point where luggage is sorted before being distributed for loading onto aircraft, the TV report said.
In a statement, the airport said the child had apparently managed to climb onto the belt carrying baggage from check-in by way of an unstaffed counter. It said the toddler had not been supervised by his parents at the time.
The airport statement said the boy was found safe and sound, having traveled only a few meters along the belt. An employee in the baggage sorting area, however, told Channel 12 that staff were "in shock" to discover a toddler on the conveyor belt, adding: "It's not clear how he survived."
Following the incident, the parents were briefly questioned before being permitted to board their flight with their child.
The Israel Airports Authority said its initial probe indicates that the toddler was unsupervised and managed to wander away from his parents at the check-in counter before climbing onto the belt.
The authority added that "the matter is being handled by the police in conjunction with the toddler's parents." No injuries to the child were reported, and it was not immediately clear whether any further action would be taken.
