Mother crushed to death by escalator, manages to throw her child to safety

[Olivia]

How does this even happen?



There is mounting anger in the Chinese city of Jingzhou after an escalator accident saw a mother plunge to her death seconds after thrusting her toddler to safety.

The woman fell through an access cover of an escalator in a Chinese department store, pushing her toddler to safety as she did.

As news of the accident spread, locals expressed their heartbreak and anger at how an accident like this could happen.

The Los Angeles Times reports people have been questioning why the escalator was not cordoned off it is posed a danger.

Xiang Liujuan, 30, was holding her son in front of her as they went up the stairway on Saturday, the Wuhan Evening News said.

Two employees were seen standing at the top of the escalator, apparently trying to talk with Xiang as she and her son rode up.

It was unclear whether the workers knew the footplate was insecure, though they are seen standing to the side of the metal panel.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news...ectid=11487676

[Bellaboo]

How does this even happen?



There is mounting anger in the Chinese city of Jingzhou after an escalator accident saw a mother plunge to her death seconds after thrusting her toddler to safety.

The woman fell through an access cover of an escalator in a Chinese department store, pushing her toddler to safety as she did.

As news of the accident spread, locals expressed their heartbreak and anger at how an accident like this could happen.

The Los Angeles Times reports people have been questioning why the escalator was not cordoned off it is posed a danger.

Xiang Liujuan, 30, was holding her son in front of her as they went up the stairway on Saturday, the Wuhan Evening News said.

Two employees were seen standing at the top of the escalator, apparently trying to talk with Xiang as she and her son rode up.

It was unclear whether the workers knew the footplate was insecure, though they are seen standing to the side of the metal panel.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news...ectid=11487676

How awful. I hate escalators. People dawdle and i'm always afraid of a pile up. Unbelievable. So sad.

[Caffeinatedkat]

That poor baby. I hope he could not comprehend what happened to his mother.

[animosity]

People are always falling through things and being squished in China. I have never been nervous about the floor below me, but I'm about to start.

[Caffeinatedkat]

I have watched this video like 10 times and although it is super sad the mother did not "thrust her child to safety" it just makes a good headline. She fell forward he kinda tumbled forward and the worker pulled him to,safety.

[Boston Babe 73]

Judging by the video, they were well aware that there was something wrong with the metal plate. One of the employees even points to it.

[animosity]

I have watched this video like 10 times and although it is super sad the mother did not "thrust her child to safety" it just makes a good headline. She fell forward he kinda tumbled forward and the worker pulled him to,safety.

Nah, she made an obvious thrust for his safety. It's hard to thrust adequately when you are falling through air though.

[PCP777]

WTF with that music?

[WooFrigginHoo]

I watch it and I keep saying, "Grab her, grab her!" But it doesn't happen.

[Caffeinatedkat]

I watch it and I keep saying, "Grab her, grab her!" But it doesn't happen.

Once she went in she was already trapped in the belt and it was pulling her down. Even if they had held on to her arms they would have pulled out half a lady :0(

[Caffeinatedkat]

But the escalator continued rolling, and several seconds later Xiang is seen disappearing downwards into the mechanism, despite one of the staff briefly grabbing her hand.

It took firefighters more than four hours to cut open the machine and recover the woman, who showed "no signs of life", the newspaper report said.

Man what a way to go. They say maintenance had just fixed it and forgot to screw in the panel

[BugBug]

Oh uhg! How horrible. Poor lady.

I HATE escalators with a passion. When I was about 5, my Nana and I were on one and I panicked right at the top about getting off. I basically flung us both backwards. Thank goodness there were two young men behind us that caught us, otherwise we would have tumbled all the way down. And then I'd be known as the one who killed Nana.

[Ron_NYC]

I never knew anyone have a shit about escalators until MDS. I thought elevators were what scared people silly.

I fucking love escalators, cause they make my life easier, but this is the first time I've ever seen anything about them that scared me.

[Bellaboo]

I never knew anyone have a shit about escalators until MDS. I thought elevators were what scared people silly.

I fucking love escalators, cause they make my life easier, but this is the first time I've ever seen anything about them that scared me.

Horrible accidents have happened with kids getting their feet mangled on escalators ...one child's shoe laces got caught in the moving threads ....no automatic shut off .... just horrible ... this one is especially horrific

[Shins]

Yeah, I was just going to say that. Escalators are actually pretty dangerous. I may or may not have had to respond to several incidents in my prior employment, where people toes/fingers/legs, etc were mangled by escalators. I actually know a girl who lost a toe to an escalator.

[debk589]

I was wearing a super long skirt at the airport the other day and was totally freaked by the escalator with it on. Pretty sure I showed a couple peeps my undies lifting it all the way up, and don't care.

[Bellaboo]

I was wearing a super long skirt at the airport the other day and was totally freaked by the escalator with it on. Pretty sure I showed a couple peeps my undies lifting it all the way up, and don't care.

Safety first, modesty second.

[puzzld]

They are quite an obstacle for service dog users... we've not had an injury, but they've scared us a couple times.

[TheFavoriteDaughter]

My foot got caught in an escalator when I was 5. Fortunately the only thing that got mangled was my shoe. I screamed and someone hit the emergency switch right away.

[OctoberT]

I became afraid of escalators when I was a child and was watching the news about a little girl my age whose hair got caught in it and she was scalped.

I definitely prefer stairs to elevators or escalators any day.

[Ron_NYC]

They are quite an obstacle for service dog users... we've not had an injury, but they've scared us a couple times.

Obstacle? The dog doesn't like them?

[puzzld]

Obstacle? The dog doesn't like them?

[ashley951]

I worked in a dept store and I was near the bottom of the one going up and we heard a lady scream so we run over and she's falling backwards almost at the top. I can't remember but think a guy was behind her that helped push her up to get balance. Now I always fear I'm going to fall backwards on them and I'm already a lil scared to step on but not scared enough not to use them. You guys might have changed that for me now.

[bermstalker]

Nah, she made an obvious thrust for his safety. It's hard to thrust adequately when you are falling through air though.

Come on. Cat is super mom. No mom would dare risk their life for their kid....other than cat.


When I worked in a dept store- one of the first things we were trained on was the escalator. We had to know the emergency switch, how to work it, what to look for, and who to call right away if omething happened. Lots of very old seniors always got hurt on it.

[Ron_NYC]

HOLY SHIT! I've never seen those signs. And since I'm on escalators in public transportation, you rarely see any dogs. I've never seen anyone have to carry a service animal. That's crazy.