A toddler who died after falling some 15 metres over a railing at Pearson International Airport wiggled out of his mother's arms as she turned her attention to her other child, police said Monday.
Foul play is not suspected in the 15-month-old boy's death and the tragic fall Sunday has been ruled an accident, Peel police Const. J.P. Valade said.
"We've been able to determine the child was in his mother's arms. There was a four-year-old sibling that was nearby," said Valade.
"When the mother turned to pay some attention to the four-year-old, the 15-month-old was able to sort of wiggle out of her arms and she lost her grip on the child and he fell over the balcony."
The Burlington, Ont., family, including the woman, her two children, her husband and a grandparent, were preparing to embark on a vacation to Argentina when the boy fell from the upper departures level in Terminal 1 to the lower level arrivals area.
The family is "absolutely devastated, as would anyone be at the loss of a child," Valade added.
Police got a 911 call about 7:20 p.m. Sunday and went to the scene with fire officials and ambulance personnel. The boy was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Several witnesses were interviewed at the airport and police have a "great deal" of video surveillance footage, Valade said.
Witness Doug Ellis told CTV News that "people were there right away trying to save him and did everything they could to save his life."
A small makeshift memorial, with flowers and a stuffed animal, was set up at the scene on Monday.
Officials at the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said the balcony partition is to code and called the fall an "isolated, tragic accident."
Peel police say toddlers death from fall at Pearson Airport was an accident
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Published on
November 23, 2009
- Published on June 30, 2010
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The Canadian Press ~ The News
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