26-Year-Old Airport Baggage Handler Dies After Her Hair Gets Stuck In Belt Loader

KEY POINTS

The ground worker at the airport was unloading luggage during the incident
She suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital
Frontier Airlines canceled a flight following the woman's death

A 26-year-old woman working at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Louisiana died after her hair got stuck in a belt loader.

Jermani Thompson of Reserve was unloading luggage from a Frontier Airlines plane late Tuesday night when the horrific accident took place at around 10:20 p.m., officials told WDSU News Wednesday.

The aircraft had been parked in an area meant for loading and unloading at the time. Thompson, who was a GAT Airline Ground support employee, suffered serious injuries after her hair got entangled in the machinery of the belt loader.

The baggage handler was rushed to the hospital and eventually pronounced dead.

A Frontier Airlines flight scheduled for departure from the airport Wednesday was canceled in light of the tragic accident.

"We are deeply saddened about the tragic loss of GAT Airline Ground Support team member, Jermani Thompson," Kevin Dolliole, Director of Aviation for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, said in a statement, according to the outlet.

"The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport extends its sincere condolences to her family and friends, and also to our partners at GAT and Fontier Airlines," the statement went on to say.

"Jermani was a part of our Airport family, and we will continue to support one another in any way we can during this trying time."

"We are heartbroken and are supporting her family and her friends as best as we are able," said Mike Hough, GAT's chief executive officer, according to Nola.com.

A spokesperson for Frontier Airlines, Jennifer de la Cruz, also acknowledged the incident in a statement. "We extend our deepest condolences following the tragic death of a team member of our ground handling business partner," de la Cruz said. "Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during this difficult time."

The victim's mother, Angela Dorsey, said Thompson graduated from Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, and was a passionate basketball player, according to NBC News.

"She was my baby girl. Everybody loved her," the mother told Nola.com in an interview, as quoted by the New York Post.

"I'm just lost for words," the grieving mother added. "I can't even think."