A 61-year-old man died last week after being pulled into an MRI machine by a large metallic chain he was wearing around his neck, highlighting the critical importance of metal screening procedures before entering areas where magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is in use.

The incident occurred at a medical imaging facility in Westbury, New York, on Long Island. According to Nassau County police, the man entered the MRI room while a scan was in progress—unauthorized at the time—and was suddenly drawn into the machine by the magnetic force of the large metal chain, which caused a medical emergency.

Emergency services transported the man to a hospital in critical condition, but he was pronounced dead the following day. Authorities have not publicly released the victim’s identity, though family members identified him as Keith McAllister, a resident of the area.

His wife, who was undergoing an MRI at the time of the incident, said her husband was wearing a 20-pound metal chain with a large lock, used for weight training. After her procedure, she called out for his help in standing up. It was then, she said, that the MRI machine’s magnetic field pulled him in forcefully.

In her account of the incident, she described the moment her husband was yanked toward the machine, slammed into it, and collapsed. She and the MRI technician attempted to pull him away, pleading for the machine to be turned off and emergency assistance to be called.

Medical imaging experts warn that the magnets in MRI machines are powerful enough to turn even moderately sized metal objects into dangerous projectiles. The strong magnetic field extends well beyond the scanner itself, posing a hazard to anyone wearing or carrying ferromagnetic materials.

MRI safety protocols require that both patients and anyone entering the MRI suite be thoroughly screened for metallic objects, including items like jewelry, keys, oxygen tanks, pacemakers, or metal implants. Even minor oversights can result in catastrophic accidents, as this case demonstrates.

Similar tragedies have occurred in the past. In one notable case, a young boy was killed after a metal oxygen tank was pulled across an MRI room and struck him. Though rare, such incidents emphasize the need for strict adherence to safety guidelines in medical imaging environments.

An investigation into last week’s incident remains ongoing. Officials are reviewing how the patient was allowed into the MRI room with a metal object during an active scan and whether proper safety protocols were followed.