Two technicians were arrested after an escalator malfunctioned at a shopping mall in Hong Kong, leaving 18 people injured.
Both technicians from Otis Elevator company were suspected of tampering with the motor assembly of the defective 45-meter-long escalator while government engineers inspected the site at Langham Place after the incident. South China Morning Post reported that both technicians, aged 22 and 52, were charged with obstruction of justice and are currently released on bail.
“The arrest of our mechanics was a surprise. Our mechanics were asked by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to provide on-site support for the inspection of the escalator at Langham Place,” a spokesperson for Otis Elevator Company mentioned in a statement. “In fact, our mechanics were released on bail and without any charge filed.”
Langham Place’s escalator, known as of the city’s longest indoor escalators, suddenly ceased and operated in reverse direction on Saturday afternoon, according to an earlier report by South China Morning Post.
Eyewitnesses who were there at that time said that four men and 14 women who were taking the escalator stumbled down and tripped at the escalator’s base. One of the victims suffered a head injury and was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
One of the victims recounted the incident to the news site, saying that the escalator moved twice more than its normal speed before the glitch took place. She added that the escalator paused for a few minutes on that same day. Gianna Francesca Catolico/ra/rga