Caught on video: 20 hurt as out-of-control escalator gives away in Rome

Pic/ AFP PHOTO / HO / VIGILI DEL FUOCO

In what can be described as a horrifying nightmare, about 20 people, all Russian football fans were injured, some seriously, in an escalator mishap in Italy's capital city Rome. The incident took place in a metro station in central Rome when an escalator went out of control and suddenly gained speed, causing multiple injuries to people who were on it, with one person reported to be seriously hurt after his leg was entangled in the escalator's mechanics.

A video posted on social media showed the escalator at the Republica station coming down, when suddenly and dramatically it picked up speed with dozens on it. People were seen screaming as they piled on top of one another at the bottom of the moving stairway.

Unconfirmed media reports said witnesses spoke of football fans, seemingly drunk, jumping and dancing on the escalator just before the collapse happened, but supporters denied this ever happened.

"In any event, we are here to understand what happened and to offer our support to the wounded and their families," Rome mayor Virginia Raggi told journalists at the scene. According to officials with the rescue teams, all injured were rescued and taken to hospital.

Several investigations have been opened, and the metro station near Rome's Termini train station was closed.

The horrific events took place around 1730 GMT, just over an hour before the kickoff of a Champions League match between Italy's Roma and Russian club CSKA Moscow.

The First responder treating an injured person who was one of the many others that were injured in the escalator accident that took place in Rome, Italy. Pic/AFP

The Russian fans were headed for the metro that would have linked them to the train to the stadium.

There was heightened security in Rome for some 1,500 Russian supporters, notoriously rowdy, expected to watch the game. One Russian supporter, the subject of a stadium ban, had already been stopped at the airport as he tried to enter.

But according to Italian media, this did not prevent an assortment of incidents around the stadium hosting the match. One Russian fan was stabbed with a knife, and two others were hurt in clashes with other supporters.

Roma won the group stage match 3-0, tweeting after the match that: "The thoughts of everyone at #ASRoma are with the supporters injured prior to tonight's game. The club will do everything it can to provide the right support and assistance to those in need." Red-Blue World, a CSKA fan group, set up a collection fund for those injured, as well as fans hurt in violence near the stadium. Rome's public transport is often criticised as running on obsolete equipment.

First responders evacuate a wounded person from Piazza della Repubblica in central Rome on October 23, 2018 after around 20 people were injured when an escalator leading to the Repubblica metro station collapsed in an accident believed to have been caused by Russian football fans. Pic/AFP

In recent years, more than a dozen municipal buses have caught fire while in service, with several reports of metro passengers injured by malfunctioning hardware. And a massive bridge collapse in Genoa in August -- which killed 43 people -- also raised safety questions about transport infrastructure in Italy. Incidents on escalators have caused injuries, and even deaths, around the world.

In 2015, a woman was killed after she plunged through flooring over an escalator in a Chinese department store. Security camera footage showed a panel in the floor giving way as the woman stepped off the escalator. As she fell half-way through she pushed her son forward, and a nearby shop assistant dragged him to safety.

The injured were taken to hospital for first aid treatment. Around 20 people were injured in the escalator accident that took place in Rome, Italy. Pic AFP

In March 2017, around 20 people were injured at a Hong Kong shopping centre when an escalator suddenly changed direction, sending people hurtling towards its base.

With inputs from AFP

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