Part of NAIA 2 floor collapses, sends foreigner into 2-ft hole

MANILA - (UPDATED) An arriving foreign passenger fell into a 2-ft deep hole when the platform he was standing on at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 collapsed.

Harry William Hansen arrived at NAIA Terminal 2 on board Philippine Airlines flight PR 307 from Hong Kong and was on his way to the immigration counter when the tiled flooring he was standing on collapsed last July 25. The incident was reported Wednesday.

Fortunately, several airport workers were able to immediately extract Hansen from the hole. The passenger did not sustain any serious injury.

''Tinulunagan po namin na maka ahon at inalok na dalhin sa clinic pero tumanggi po siya,'' an airport worker said.

No advisory was released by the airport's media affairs division regarding the incident.

Airport employees interviewed by ABS-CBN News showed the photo of the hole where the foreigner fell. They fear that such an incident may occur again if the floor will not be fixed.

They added that airport authorities should investigate why the flooring collapsed.

''Dapat pong imbestigahan ito ng airport authority dahil natatakot po kami kung ito eh mangyari sa mga naka wheelchair or senior citizen na pasahero,'' the employee said.

AIRPORT CONFIRMS INCIDENT

Dave de Castro, spokesperson of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), confirmed the incident and said that appropriate actions have been undertaken to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

In a statement issued one month after the incident, MIAA said the collapse was partly due to the weight of the passenger standing on the tiled flooring.

"A plus-sized passenger, a certain Harry William Hansen, was about to leave the transfer desk area – international arrival level – last July 25 when a portion of the floor he had been standing on for some time gave way," the official statement said.

MIAA said Hansen did not incur any injury following the incident and was offered medical assistance twice.

According to MIAA, the damaged floor area was once a pocket garden which was converted by Philippine Airlines to a normal, tiled hallway more than one year ago.

"Terminal management points out that either the wooden foundation gave way or the ground soil was not compact enough causing it to erode. The flooring was completely repaired two weeks after the incident. Prior to re-tiling the area, the floor foundation was reinforced and the soil made more compact," MIAA said.