A South Korean man was misidentified as a box by a robot that crushed him to death, local media has reported.
The incident took place when the worker, reportedly in his 40s, was inspecting the robot’s sensor at a warehouse for agricultural products.
Yonhap news agency reports that the robot was lifting boxes of bell peppers when it mistook the man for a receptacle.
According to police sources, the “Mechanical arm pushed the man’s upper body onto a conveyor belt and crushed his face and chest”.
The man later died in hospital.
In an official statement released by the Donggoseong Export Agricultural Complex, the plant owner, called for a “precise and safe” system to be established.
Sky News reports that in March, another South Korean man in his 50s, endured serious injuries after getting trapped by a robot while working at a vehicle parts manufacturing plant.
