One of the injured at the hospital for treatment
Dozens of people fall in an escalator accident at Beijing’s West Train Station
3 people are sent to the hospital, The injured say the escalator suddenly reversed direction
Source: Jinghua Times (Beijing)
May 28, 2009
Yesterday afternoon around 1:30, dozens of people suddenly fell down one of the escalators at the pedestrian overpass in the north square of the West Train Station. Three of the injured were taken to the hospital for treatment. According to the injured, the accident happened when the escalator suddenly reversed direction for close to ten seconds. Municipal personnel deny this allegation, stating that the cause was still under investigation.
By 2:50 pm yesterday things were back to normal at the scene of the accident and the escalator involved had been restarted. One eyewitness surnamed Sun said that at the time of the incident, he suddenly heard shouting and when he ran to see what had happened, he discovered nearly forty people, including two senior citizens, piled up in a pyramid on the escalator. At that time, the escalator had stopped and he and several other people on the street rushed to help the people up. One of the injured notified the police. When the police arrived on the scene, they ordered the escalator sealed off for investigation and they called 999 for first aid personnel. Three people were subsequently taken to Shuili Hospital.
Mrs. Meng and her mother had many scrapes on their bodies. She said she and her mother were standing in the middle of the escalator when it suddenly stopped and immediately started moving downward. When the people at the top of the escalator fell, it started a chain reaction with people knocking each other down. She and her mother were both knocked over. At that time the escalator was still going down and continued for close to 10 seconds before it stopped. She said that if it wasn’t for several men at the bottom of the escalator who were able to withstand the fall of the crowd, she couldn’t say what might have happeend. Because of the accident, she and her mother both missed their train back to Shijiazhuang (Hebei).
One of the injured, Mrs. Wan, had many cuts on her legs. She said there were about a dozen people whose arms had been cut on the steps of the escalator, but because they weren’t seriously hurt, they rushed off to catch their trains. A doctor at Shuili Hospital’s emergency room stated that the three injured had cuts and bruises.
The escalator involved was returned for examination to the municipal administration for bridges and thoroughfares. After the incident, one cadre from the administration, Mr. Li, rushed to the hospital to see the injured. He said that the escalator received routine maintenance every two weeks without any problems. Video from the scene had not yet shown that the escalator had reversed directions, but rather that the two senior citizens at the top of the escalator had slipped and caused a chain reaction. After the accident they inspected the escalator and had not found any problems and at the moment the escalator has resumed functioning. This cadre stated that the cause of this particular accident was still under investigation. They will pay for the injured’s medical fees and will assist Mrs. Meng and her mother in exchanging their train tickets, and as for other compensation, they will decide after more research into the matter.
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