A man died last week after being pulled into an MRI machine by a “large metallic chain” police said he was wearing around his neck – highlighting the importance of checking for any metallic objects before going near the powerful magnets used in the medical imaging machines.

Keith McAllister, 61, died after entering a room at an MRI clinic in New York while a scan was under way and being pulled into the machine.

The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon at a medical building in Westbury, New York, according to the Nassau County Police Department.