Dangerous escalators

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 11, 2011


Editor's notes:

At 9:36 a.m. of July 5, a Beijing subway station escalator suddenly lost control and threw more than 30 riders off their feet, causing one dead and 30 others injured. Last year, a similar accident happened at a Metro station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, injuring 25 people.  What caused the incidents?

 

Subway escalator accidents

 


 

 Brand: Otis

 Time: At 9:36 a.m. of July 5, 2011

 Location: At the A exit of the Zoo Station on Metro Line 4 of Beijing Subway.

 State of Affairs: A subway station escalator suddenly lost control and threw more than 30 riders off their feet, causing one dead and 28 others injured. The government has demanded a probe into the accident while asking all subway operators to immediately launch checks of facilities to ensure the safety. [Full story]

 Cause: The malfunction of a component led to the sudden loosening of the escalator's drive chain.

 Latest updates: 
Beijing accident won't hurt Otis in long term
Otis responsible for escalator malfunction
Big cities investigate elevators
Video       • Photos

 

 Brand: Otis

 Time: At 8:49 a.m. of December 14, 2010

 Location: On a moving staircase at Guomao Station, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

 State of Affairs: An upward-moving escalator at Guomao  Station on subway line No.1 loaded with passengers suddenly began to move downward, causing several passengers to fall and triggering a stampede, which left 25 people injured and led to complaints over subway staff's slow response to the incident. [Full story]

 Cause: Loose bolts

 Latest updates:
 • China subway stampede leaves 25 injured
 • 24 injured in escalator malfunction in S. China
 • Video   • Photos

 


 


 

Brand: CNIM

 Time: At around 9:00 p.m. of July 10,2011

 Location: At the Qinghu Station, the northern terminal of the south-north subway line in Shenzhen

 State of Affairs: An escalator accident left at least four injured at a subway station in Shenzhen. Witnesses claimed the escalator ran backward when the people on it fell down on the ground, but the subway operator denied the accounts. [Full story]

 Cause: The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

 • Video       • Photos

Brand: Otis

 Time: At around 9:00 a.m. of July 13,2011

 Location: Guo Sheng Hotel in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province

 State of Affairs: A man fell to death because of elevator failures.

 Cause: The cause of the accident is still under investigation.


 

 

 

Response

 

 

 

Government:

Lifts and heavy duty escalators to improve safety

A new set of design rules calls for pedestrian bridges and underground passages in Beijing to be built with heavy-duty escalators that have brakes to prevent them from suddenly stopping or reversing direction. [Details]

 • Otis

Otis suffering setbacks after deadly accident

An escalator accident at a subway station in Beijing on July 5, which killed a 13-year-old boy, has had an increasingly negative impact on Otis (China), the company that installed the escalator. [Details]

Experts' opinion:

I. Subway death: tragedy waiting to happen?

The deadly incident on an escalator that suddenly became "alive" Wednesday at the Beijing Zoo Station on Subway Line 4 sounds like a terrifying combination of a weird X-File-style story meets horrifying Terminator sequel. People said the electric equipment "lost control" and that the subway "smelled of blood." Next thing you know doors will start munching on passengers. [Details]

II. Prevent another subway tragedy

After the escalator accident in Beijing last Tuesday, officials should do more to prevent another public transportation tragedy. [Details]

 Take the escalator

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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