Baldwin film worker may lose arm after spider bite

A MEMBER of the crew on the film production where Alec Baldwin accidentally shot dead a camera operator is in hospital and may lose one of his arms after being bitten by a poisonous spider.

Jason Miller, a lamp operator and pipe rigger, was bitten by a brown recluse spider as production on Rust

wound down following the incident last month in the New Mexico desert, according to a Justgiving page set up by friends.

In the days following the bite he began experiencing severe symptoms, including necrosis (death of body tissue) in his arm and sepsis, according to Sky News.

The fundraising page says: “He has been hospitalised and endured multiple surgeries each day as doctors do their best to stop the infection and try to save his arm from amputation. It will be a very long road to recovery for Jason if the medical team is able to save his arm.”

It marks yet another problem for the film after Mr Baldwin accidentally shot and killed Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, while rehearsing a scene for the film on Oct 21. Joel Souza, the director, was wounded by the same bullet.

It has since emerged that several crew members had raised concerns about safety on set before the shooting.

Investigators have said a live round appeared to have been loaded into a prop gun that Mr Baldwin had been handed for the scene. Film crews are usually required to follow strict safety procedures to make sure only dummy rounds are used during filming.

A spokesperson said the Rust producers did not comment on individual members of the cast or crew’s private matters.