On Saturday afternoon in a Hong Kong mall, visitors were stunned when a tall escalator standing at roughly 150 feet suddenly malfunctioned. This sent the machine in the reverse direction at nearly twice the normal speed. The accident has left several people injured and angry.
Investigators are still looking into what caused the sudden event, as the machine had passed its inspection earlier before with no problems.
The event was described as horrifying by other witnesses, with people screaming and piling up near the bottom of the escalator, many lost their balance and instantly fell when the incident occurred.
Not long after the accident, two engineers had been arrested for “perverting the course of justice.”  They had been accused of messing with the escalator’s mechanics after the machine malfunctioned. The mechanics were released on bail but must report back to the police soon, the company declares that they will defend their mechanics and see to it that everything is straightened out.
As for the health of the victims, 18 people were reported with notable injuries, however most have recovered within days with no broken bones or lethal wounds. Only one man suffered a serious head injury, he is still in critical condition at the hospital.
Despite the passed inspection, some dedicate the cause to a malfunction in the escalator’s chain and emergency brake, which should have stopped the machine when a problem arose.
Investigations will continue to determine the problem behind the escalator’s malfunction in hopes of preventing a similar event in the future.