Italian authorities have launched investigations after a severe escalator malfunction in Rome sent dozens of football fans hurtling to the floor, injuring at least twenty.
Troubling footage captured at the Repubblica train station shows the fans rapidly descend the out-of-control escalator, forming a human crush at the escalator’s base.
https://twitter.com/RBWorldorg/status/1054789992613068800
Local authorities state one person had their foot amputated as a result of the malfunction. Others were hospitalised, with first responders also treating those injured at the scene.
The city’s fire brigade posted an image of the damaged escalator, along with footage of the immediate response to the incident.
#Roma #23ott 19:45, cede scala mobile #metroA stazione #repubblica: intervento #vigilidelfuoco in corso per soccorso ai feriti pic.twitter.com/TVAsgYD8Zd
— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) October 23, 2018
#Roma #metro #repubblica, aggiornamento ore 21:00: terminata la prima fase dell’intervento dei #vigilidelfuoco, tutti i feriti sono stati soccorsi e avviati agli ospedali. Prosegue l’intervento di messa in sicurezza pic.twitter.com/PpqwYlmBDm
— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) October 23, 2018
The station was reportedly full of CSKA Moscow fans on their way to attend the club’s Champions League clash against AS Roma.
The Russian club has offered assistance to any fans affected by the failure.
Local media reports the malfunction occurred after fans jumped up and down on the escalator, but fire brigade chief Giampietro Boscaino said they have not yet identified the cause of the incident.
“We cannot say how it happened. It’s a strange incident,” Boscaino said, adding that authorities would assess CCTV footage to help determine what caused the malfunction.
La Reoubblica reports Rome’s public prosecutor has launched an inquest into the incident. Atac, the service provider charged with overseeing the city’s public transportation, has also begun its own investigation.
The incident is one of several high-profile escalator malfunctions in recent memory.
In March, a man miraculously sustained minor injuries after being pulled into a broken escalator in Turkey, and in 2017, footage emerged of an escalator in a Hong Kong shopping centre throwing visitors to the ground, injuring at least 18 people.
