CHICAGO (AP) — Firefighters found a dead woman trapped in machinery in a private baggage handling area at O’Hare International Airport on Thursday.

Larry Langford, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department, said firefighters were called to the airport around 7:45 a.m. because a person was trapped in a machine transporting luggage. He said they found the woman in a baggage compartment caught in a conveyor belt system.

The room was not open to the public, Langford said. He said paramedics estimated her age to be about 40 years old.

Scott Allen, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor, said an Occupational Safety and Health Administration official visited the scene and determined the woman was not an airport employee. How she got into the baggage hold is unclear.

The fire department turned the scene over to police investigators, and Langford could not provide further details. The Chicago Police Department’s communications office said in an email to The Associated Press that the woman was found unconscious and pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have launched an investigation, the office said.

The office said the woman was discovered at 2:27 a.m. Langford said he did not know why firefighters were not called to the airport until more than five hours later. The police communications team did not immediately respond to a follow-up email from AP asking about the delay in contacting the fire department. Police spokeswoman Michelle Tannehill also did not immediately respond to emails, texts and voicemail messages asking about the delay.

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