Ten people were injured when an escalator at a train station in the Philippines went into reverse, sending commuters back to the bottom at speed.
The mechanical malfunction unfolded at the Taft Ave station of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) in the capital Manila on Saturday, March 8.
CCTV footage shows passengers riding the crowded moving staircase when it suddenly halted, then moved downwards at an accelerated speed.
Locals can be seen falling on each other, with some thrown to the ground.
Train management reported that the main drive chain of the motor-powered stairs was damaged and vowed to cover the medical expenses of those injured.
MRT-3 general manager Oscar Bongon said: “We apologise to our passengers and we are coordinating with those affected by the incident.”
The damaged escalator was repaired on Tuesday afternoon.
The Filipinos aren’t the first to suffer injuries after escalators malfunction or are misused.
In 2017 a shopping centre escalator in Hong Kong suddenly reversed direction and sent shoppers tumbling at high speed.
The escalator in Langham Place shopping centre, Mong Kok, was full of people when it suddenly changed direction, injuring 18 people.
A witness said that the escalator travelled “twice as fast” in reverse.
A spokeswoman for Langham Place claimed at the time the machine had passed a recent inspection.
In 2018 an escalator in a metro station in Rome malfunctioned, sending dozens of people crashing into each other.
The incident at the Repubblica station came as the Italian capital was packed with fans attending a big European football game.
CSKA Moscow were heading to Stadio Olimpico for the Russian team’s match against Roma.
Local media reports claimed the escalator malfunctioned after Russian fans were seen “singing and jumping on it” and one witness said the accident was “a scene from the apocalypse”.
In 2019, distressing footage emerged of the moment a young girl had her arm sucked into an escalator after she forgot to let go of the handrail.
The video, which was recorded in a shopping centre in the city of Hanchuan in China’s central Hubei Province, shows the 5 year old riding the escalator up to the next floor together with her mum.
It shows the girl with her left hand placed firmly on the rubber handrail, but she does not let go as she reaches the floor above and the handrail rolls back underneath the floor panel.
The girl crouches down at the escalator exit and her left arm is suddenly sucked into the mechanism together with the disappearing handrail.
Members of the local fire service said they managed to rescue the girl in just 10 minutes by dismantling the plastic housing surrounding the handrail conveyor system.
The child’s hand was cut and swollen, for which she was given stitches at a local hospital, but she fortunately escaped serious injuries despite the ordeal.
In 2022 a woman in China was injured after a suitcase was let loose on an escalator, hurtling towards her at speed and striking her in the legs.
Video of the incident in China’s eastern Zhejiang province quickly went viral.
The woman suffered minor injuries.
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