Police are investigating a man’s death after he was pulled into MRI machine

Police are investigating a man’s death after he was pulled into a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine earlier this week.

The 61-year-old man was wearing a “large metallic chain” when he entered an MRI room on Wednesday at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, N.Y., while a scan was in progress, the Nassau County Police Department said.

The chain caused the man to be “drawn into the machine which resulted in a medical episode” and he died from his injuries the next day, police also said.

NPR reached out to Nassau Open MRI in Westbury for comment on Saturday but has not received a response.

An MRI scan can create a “strong, static magnetic field” that creates physical hazards, says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates MRI safety. This can attract and “pull on” magnetic items such as cell phones, keys and oxygen tanks that can injure patients and medical professionals if they become projectiles, the agency says.

“Careful screening of people and objects entering the MR environment is critical to ensure nothing enters the magnet area that may become a projectile,” according to the FDA.