On morning of July 5, an Otis-manufactured escalator at the Beijing subway’s Zoo Station suddenly went out of control, causing the death of a 13-year-old boy.
Beijing MTR Corporation spokesperson Yang Ling released the casualty numbers for the incident. She said the incident caused one boy’s death, as well as three serious and 27 light injuries.
A traveler on Beijing Subway’s Line 4, Miss Tian, told the Beijing News what she saw at the scene: After the accident, blood and various other items were seen on 10 meters (30 feet) of escalator stairway and the floor beneath. People who had fallen on top of each other at the bottom of the escalator formed a pile a meter (three feet) high.
Sources revealed that the wounded were rushed to Beijing University People’s Hospital and Beijing Second Hospital of the Armed Police. Staff at Beijing University People’s Hospital confirmed that the wounded were on site, but refused to answer any questions.
Following an initial investigation, the Beijing Bureau of Quality Supervision said that the cause of the accident was the failure of a mounting bracket, leading to the displacement of the main motor, which in turn led to the drive chain falling off, and the escalator sliding in reverse.
“Determining whether [the accident] was caused by a maintenance issue, or a flaw in an [escalator] component itself, requires further investigation,” a Bureau official, Li Lianghua, told Beijing News.
Beijing Subway Line 4 is a major transportation hub that runs north-south through Beijing. It passes through Xidan, Zhongguancun, Summer Palace, and Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan), among other neighborhoods, with an average of 800,000 passengers daily.
Beijing Subway Line 4 has a total of 24 stations, with over 300 escalators. All 10 Otis-manufactured escalators currently in use by the line have been halted.
Read the original Chinese article.
