An escalator malfunction inside a mall in Hong Kong’s Langham Place lead to 18 people being injured after it stopped and began moving in the opposite direction. A video footage of the incident, which surfaced online, saw several people screaming in terror as they were hurtled down one of Hong Kong’s longest escalator. The shoppers lost their balance and stumbled down the escalator, leading to a pile up at the bottom. The escalator connects Mong Kok Mall’s fourth and eight floors and is 45 metres in length, according to the South China Morning Post.

According to the Straits Times, of the 18 injured, four were men and 14 women. A man who suffered a head injury was reportedly taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and is said to be serious. The mall management and Otis Elevator Company (HK) Limited will be carrying out an investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident. Also, the victims will be appropriately compensated. According to the Langham Place spokeswoman, the escalator had passed a biannual safety test on March 23. The incident took place at 4 pm local time.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now </s> SINGAPORE: At least 18 people were injured after the steps on one of Hong Kong's longest indoor escalators abruptly slid backwards on Saturday (Mar 25) afternoon, according to local reports.

Video footage of the incident showed the 45m-long escalator between the fourth and eighth floors of Langham Place moving upwards, before suddenly going backwards, throwing shoppers off balance.

Rescue workers rushed to the popular mall at Mong Kok's Argyle Street after the incident, which took place at around 4pm.

According to Apple Daily, 14 women and four men were injured, with one of the men sustaining head injuries. Those hurt were sent to Kwong Wah Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.

The South China Morning Post quoted Tsim Sha Tsui fire station's Assistant Divisional Officer Chung Chi-wai saying that none of the injured had suffered broken bones and all of them were conscious.

A spokesperson for Langham Place was quoted by Apple Daily as saying that all escalators in the mall were inspected by Otis Elevator, the maintenance contractor, in accordance with the law.

The escalator that malfunctioned undergoes annual inspections twice a year, with the last such inspection carried out on Jan 27, as well as routine inspections every two weeks, the spokesperson said. The last routine inspection was on Thursday and the escalator was found to be functioning normally and in compliance with safety standards, according to the spokesperson.

The mall will cooperate fully with authorities and has asked Otis Elevator to investigate the cause of the accident, the spokesperson added.

Langham Place, completed in 2004, is said to attract more than 200,000 visitors each day. </s> HONG KONG: Two technicians have been arrested after an escalator malfunctioned at a Hong Kong shopping mall on Saturday (Mar 25) injuring at least 18.

The men from Otis Elevator Company were arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice and have been released on bail, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. They were held on suspicion of handling mechanical parts in relation to the incident at Langham Place shopping mall, SCMP added.

Video footage of the incident shows the 45m-long escalator - one of Hong Kong's longest indoor escalators - between the fourth and eighth floors of Langham Place suddenly reversing and throwing shoppers off balance.

Of those injured, two remain in hospital in a stable condition, according to SCMP.

A damaged driving chain might have been the cause of the incident and a braking device may have also malfunctioned, a spokesperson from Hong Kong's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department told SCMP.



“The department is conducting a thorough investigation to ­confirm the causes of the accident,” the spokesperson added.



Hong Kong's government has also ordered contractors to conduct tests on 57 escalators that are more than 15m tall within a month, according to SCMP. </s> Visitors to a luxury 15-storey Hong Kong shopping mall were sent hurtling down a massive escalator when it suddenly went into reverse.

At least 18 people were injured when the 40-meter escalator in the Langham Place mall in Hong Kong’s Mongkok district changed direction without warning.

READ MORE: 7 people injured tumbling down New York escalator like dominos

The incident, which was caught on camera, happened on Saturday afternoon as visitors to the high-rise center were going about their shopping, according to the South China Morning Post.

One eyewitness, who was on the escalator at the time of the incident, told the news outlet that it went into reverse and was travelling “two times faster than normal.”

Footage of the accident reveals how, in one rapid maneuver, the escalator travelling towards a higher floor of the mall suddenly changes direction. The sharp interchange results in a crowd of unsuspecting shoppers being upended and flung towards a pile of people at the bottom of the staircase.

Another clip filmed from the bottom of the staircase reveals how some people desperately tried to get out of the way of falling men and women. One person can be seen running against the direction of the speeding stairs in an effort to escape harm.

The Grand Atrium of Langham Place includes two escalators, described as ‘Xpresscalators,’ which measure a total of 83 meters. The multimillion-dollar development also houses Mongkok’s only five star hotel.

A Langham Place spokesperson said that the particular piece of machinery involved in the mishap passed an inspection as recently as March 23. </s> Have your say

Five people were injured after an explosion at a London Tube station thought to have been caused by a battery short circuit.

Officers were called to reports of people running at Southgate Tube station shortly after 7pm on Tuesday.

A man on a “packed” escalator said some people had been “trampled” in the commotion.

London Ambulance Service said two people had been taken to hospital and three others were treated at the scene in north London for minor injuries.

A spokeswoman said: “We have treated three patients at the scene for minor injuries and have taken two people to hospital.”

The Metropolitan Police said: “It appears at this stage that the cause of the explosion was a battery short circuit.

“The Met Police and BTP (British Transport Police) are working together to establish the full facts.”

James Ayton, 34, from Southgate, was on the “packed” escalator when he saw a “quick burst” of flames at the top and said everyone “legged it”.

He said there had been a “very rapid whooshing sound”.

He added: “A few people got trampled on on the escalator. There was screaming.

“An old woman got trampled on. I had to carry a woman up the stairs. I think she was in shock to be honest. She couldn’t walk, shaking.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised emergency services for “a swift and professional response” to the incident.

British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed the incident was not believed to be terror-related. </s> A view of the crashed escalator at the "Repubblica" subway station in Rome.

A view of the crashed escalator at the "Repubblica" subway station in Rome.

AROUND 20 PEOPLE were injured when an escalator leading to a metro station in central Rome collapsed in an accident believed to have been caused by Russian football fans, Italian media said.

The AGI news agency said that “a large group of CSKA fans, probably under the influence of alcohol, began to jump together, provoking the collapse” of one part of the escalator.

Sky-TG24 television quoted police sources as saying that at least 20 people had been injured, mostly Russians, and that one was in serious condition.

AGI reported that around 15 CSKA fans had been hurt, two of them seriously. </s> An escalator at a train station in Italy malfunctioned on Tuesday, reportedly leaving at least 20 people injured.

The escalator at the Repubblica metro station in Rome broke, Italian police said. Emergency officials are responding to the scene.

Most of those aboard the escalator were CSKA Moscow soccer fans, according to local news outlet La Repubblica. Fans were headed toward Rome's Olympic Stadium, where CSKA Moscow was scheduled to play AS Roma on Tuesday.

The escalator reportedly malfunctioned when fans were jumping and singing en route to the match.

This is a developing story; please check back for updates. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage shared online shows the escalator moving at speed

More than 20 people were hurt, some seriously, when an escalator ran out of control at a Rome metro station.

Footage shared on social media showed people being crushed at the bottom as stairs on the escalator crumpled.

Many of those injured were fans of the visiting Russian football team CSKA Moscow.

One of the fans had a foot partially severed in the crush. At least two others needed surgery for injuries to their legs.

The accident happened before CSKA Moscow's match with Roma in the group stages of the Champions League.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Metal plates were left mangled at the bottom of the structure

Witnesses quoted by police said the Russian fans had been singing and jumping before the escalator gave way.

"A group of CSKA fans were going down into the station. At that moment the escalator collapsed," a police spokesman told Russian news agency RIA. Most of the injured were CSKA fans, the spokesman added.

Video posted by a Russian fan showed the escalator moving down at very high speed, with people trying to cling to the handrails.

There was panic as people ploughed into each other at the bottom and one person was hauled to safety by a man on a parallel escalator.

"I just experienced a scene from the apocalypse," one witness told Repubblica newspaper. "One of the steps on the downward escalator, just a metre away from me, started accelerating extremely fast like it had gone crazy."

Pictures of the damaged escalator show a tangle of broken and twisted metal. The fire brigade tweeted a video of its operation at 21:00 (19:00 GMT) to say all the wounded had been rescued and taken to hospital.

Three people suffered serious injuries, according to local reports. Surgeons operated on a man in his thirties in the hope of saving his foot.

Rome officials have opened an investigation into what happened. The city's transport infrastructure is notoriously chaotic but local transport authority Atac said maintenance checks on the station's escalators were carried out on a monthly basis.

City Mayor Virginia Raggi visited the scene of the accident to express her sympathy for the injured. </s> At least 21 people were killed and several injured in a rush hour stampede on a foot overbridge (FOB) linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban railway stations in Mumbai this morning, police said.

The tragedy took place amid rain in the city around 10.40 am when the FOB was heavily crowded, a police official said.

Police at least 21 people have been killed in a stampede at a railway station in the west-coast Indian city of Mumbai.

City police officer Rajaram Patel says another 20 people were injured when panicked pedestrians pushed forward to the end of an overcrowded bridge, with some people falling underfoot and being trampled.

Police say a stampede at a Mumbai local train station has seriously injured at least 20 people amid heavy rains in the morning rush hours.

Police said the stampede was triggered by a rumor that a pedestrian overpass collapsed after concrete chunks fell. Chaos prevailed as people surged forward to leave the bridge.

Paramedics have taken the injured to a hospital, the police control room said.

Fifteen people were brought dead to the KEM Hospital in Parel, the official said.

Those injured were taken to various hospitals, he said.

Officials of the railway, police and fire brigade rushed to the site to carry out rescue operations.

This is a developing story, more details awaiting.
A 45-meter long escalator at Langham Place in Hong Kong malfunctions injuring at least 18 people.