2018 Rome escalator accident

The 2018 Rome escalator accident was an incident where twenty-four people, mostly fans of the CSKA Moscow Football team, were injured after a crowded escalator at a Rome Metro station malfunctioned and suddenly sped up and hurled people down the escalator.[1][2]

Incident

The escalator at the Repubblica Metro station in Rome, malfunctioned on 23 October.[3] The station was crowded due to many fans, traveling to the Rome Olympic stadium, to watch a game between CSKA Moscow and AS Roma, in the Champions League. A group of CSKA fans were going down into the station, with witnesses raising claims that they were jumping and singing before the incident.[4] The escalator suddenly sped up sending people on the stairs at a fast pace, with little time for those at the bottom to get out of the way.

Some fans attempted to escape by utilizing the median to either slide down, or get to the other escalator.[5] After the escalator was stopped, a photo was released of the escalator stairs crumpled at the bottom, exposing jagged and exposed metal plates.[6]

Victims

Seven people were reported to have been seriously injured, with varying accounts of the total amount of injured.[7] Some of the injured were trapped between the metal plates of the steps at the bottom of the escalator.[5]

Aftermath

Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi issued a request for a formal inquest over the cause of the malfunction. The entire Repubblica station was closed so that investigators and firefighters could carry out all investigations and rescue operations.[8] In the week following the accident protests against Raggi, and raised concerns about her failing to address the city's issues such as the accident and lack of funds for city upkeep and infrastructure.[9]

A representative from ATAC, Rome's public transport company, issued a statement that "all maintenance checks of the escalator were carried out regularly and the results were in accordance to the norms."[10] Police after studying the accident footage concluded that the fans were not jumping on the escalator. The CSKA fans released a statement on 24 October that; "Italian officials, without conducting an investigation, were quick to accuse us of the accident. Apparently, they are trying to shun the responsibility of what happened."[11]

References
  1. Staff and agencies in Rome (2018-10-23). "Dozens of Moscow fans injured as escalator runs out of control in Rome". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  2. Embury-Dennis, Tom (2018-10-23). "At least 20 injured as malfunctioning escalator on Rome subway speeds up". The Independent.
  3. Darrah, Nicole (2018-10-23). "Rome metro station escalator goes haywire, injuring riders". Fox News. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  4. "Rome escalator crush injures Russian fans". BBC News. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  5. "CSKA fans injured in Rome escalator accident". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  6. "Escalator packed with soccer fans suddenly hurtles downward, injuring dozens". ABC News. 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  7. "Rome escalator accident reportedly injures 20, mostly Russian soccer fans". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  8. Santolo, Alessandra Scotto di (2018-10-23). "Champions League horror: Football fans crushed in escalator horror - 24 injured". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  9. "Thousands protest Rome's run-down state". BBC News. 2018-10-27. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  10. Livia Borghese; Valentina DiDonato; Bianca Britton. "24 injured and man 'partially loses foot' in Rome escalator collapse". CNN. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  11. "Russian fans not guilty of Rome subway escalator crash - Subway accident". PravdaReport. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
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