Man left in critical condition after he was sucked into MRI machine while wearing metal necklace

A man from Long Island was sucked into an MRI machine on Wednesday (July 16), which has left him in critical condition.

The incident happened at a MRI centre in Westbury with the magnetic pull of the MRI dragging the man into the machine by a metallic necklace he was wearing, according to Nassau County police.

Official reports have not indicated why the unidentified 61-year-old man was in the MRI room, as he was not believed to have been permitted there at the time of the incident.

However, according to a witness at the centre, the man had supposedly ignored orders to stay out of the MRI room after he heard a patient, who is believed to be his relative, screaming.

Police went on to say the man suffered a ‘medical episode’ after being dragged in the MRI machine and was taken to a hospital nearby for treatment.

The man was wearing a metallic necklace (Getty Stock Photo)

He was last described as being in critical condition, according to a report by PIX11.

As per CBS News, staff at North Shore University Hospital have explained the dangers of entering an MRI room without permission.

Dr. Payal Sud said: “The dangers could be catastrophic and it underscores why we have all the safety precautions in place.”

North Shore went on to explain that all metal and electrical objects, including that of jewellery must be removed by patients before entering a machine.

They can be also dangerous for people with oxygen tanks and those in wheelchairs, with Charles Winterfeldt, who is the hospital’s director of imaging services, adding: “It would act like a torpedo trying to get into the middle of the center of the magnet.”

Sud said that if the chain was ‘wrapped around the neck’, then a number of ‘strangulation injuries’ could occur, like asphyxiation or cervical spinal injuries.