An ascending escalator packed with shoppers at a Mong Kok shopping mall rapidly reversed direction at around 4pm on Saturday afternoon, leaving at least 18 injured.
Videos showed the long escalator between the fourth and eight floors of Langham Place descending rapidly for several seconds, causing shoppers to fall over each other as they landed at the foot of the escalator.
Screams were heard from the shoppers, who attempted to grasp the escalator’s handles. The escalator then slowed to a halt.
Local paper Apple Daily reported that 18 people were injured in the accident, one of them severely. They were sent to Kwong Wah Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Earlier in the afternoon, the same escalator had been shut down by mall staff for around 10 minutes. Apple Daily reported that crowds had gathered near the escalator to witness an attempt to rescue a 20-year-old who took his own life in the adjacent building.
A Langham Place spokesperson told Apple Daily that the escalator in question received a regular inspection every two weeks. The most recent inspection was conducted on Thursday, and showed that all mechanical parts operated normally.
Langham Place, located at the heart of the busy Mong Kok shopping district, opened in 2004. The mall contains two long escalators from the fourth to the eight floor, and from the eight to the 12th.
