Airport Baggage Handler Dies After Hair Gets Caught In Loader

KENNER, LA — A baggage handler at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport died Tuesday after her hair became caught in a belt loader, according to reports.

The 26-year-old woman, identified by family as Jermani Thompson, was unloading luggage from an inbound flight around 10:30 p.m. when the accident happened, WGNO of New Orleans reported, citing the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. Thompson was taken to a hospital but later died from her injuries.

Thompson worked for GAT Airline Ground Support, which contracts with Frontier Airlines. Company CEO Mike Hough confirmed her death in a statement sent to ABC News.

"We are heartbroken and are supporting her family and her friends as best as we are able," Hough said.

Thompson was a basketball player who played at East St. John High School in LaPlace, Hesston College in Kansas, and Tougaloo College in Mississippi, her family told NOLA.com.

"She loved basketball," her mother, Angela Dorsey, told NOLA.com. "She was my baby girl. Everybody loved her.

In a statement to NOLA.com, New Orleans Airport Director of Aviation Kevin Dolliole called Thompson "a part of airport family."

"We will continue to support one another in any way we can during this trying time," Dolliole said.