Advertisement

Hong Kong escalator accident: Two technicians arrested

A screengrab from the video of the incident.
A screengrab from the video of the incident.

Two men from the company responsible for the upkeep of the escalator which suddenly went into reverse in a Hong Kong shopping centre on Saturday have been arrested, reported the South China Morning Post.

The report said the two men, aged 22 and 52 and from Otis Elevator Company, were being held for attempting to pervert the course of justice. The pair were said to have had dealt with the mechanical parts which are being investigated as possible causes of the incident. The parts suspected to be faulty include a braking device and a drive chain.

The accident on Saturday afternoon (25 March) at the Langham Place shopping centre in Mong Kok left 18 people injured.

Dramatic footage of the incident showed the four storey-tall escalator, which was packed with people at the time, reversing direction without warning, then speeding up as it went backwards.

Many riders lost their balance and as they reached ground level, toppled over each other. Some were sent to hospital for their injuries.

In the wake of the accident, the Hong Kong authorities have ordered extraordinary tests to be conducted on 57 escalators more than 15 metres tall within a month, said the SCMP report.

The Langham Place escalator was said to have been inspected just days before the accident occurred. As of Sunday, it was still cordoned off.