Singapore: On January 2, a three-year-old boy fell on an escalator at City Plaza Mall in Geylang and had his finger caught.
The Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident at around 2.15pm.
SCDF added that they used rescue equipment to free the child and took her to KK Women and Children Hospital.
Speaking to The Straits Times on January 3, the boy’s mother, who wished to be identified only as Sonia, said she panicked when she received a phone call from her mother overseas about the incident. Ta.
When the boy went up the escalator from the second floor to the first floor, he refused to hold his grandmother’s hand and clung to the railing.
But the railing “suddenly moved back,” her grandmother told Sonia.
The boy fell and got his finger caught on the escalator, which stopped immediately, his grandmother said, adding that mall staff quickly came to help.
The boy only suffered a small cut on his finger, but Sonia said she would be afraid to take him up escalators in the future.
A video of the incident, shared on multiple social media platforms, shows the boy and his grandmother sitting on the steps of a stopped escalator and two people talking to them.
In response to inquiries, a spokesperson for Oh My Home Property Management, the managing agent for City Plaza’s management company Strata Title (MCST), said the incident occurred at 2:10 p.m. after the boy “slipped and fell.” said that it had happened.
“The boy’s finger was caught in the escalator step,” he added. “Our mall staff were patient with the boy and his family and made sure help was on the way.”
A spokesperson said the escalator was then closed for safety reasons. “SCDF and an ambulance arrived within 10 minutes and gave the boy the necessary assistance,” he added.
“After the rescue team left, the escalator was stopped until the escalator was inspected by the designated escalator maintenance company,” he said, adding that the contractor activated the escalator after the inspection.
A spokesperson said: “MCST wishes the boy a speedy recovery and is grateful to the SCDF for quickly responding to the call to action and to the public for providing support.”
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said the boy’s right hand was stuck between the escalator’s stairs and side panel, and that they had sent an engineer to inspect the escalator after receiving a report.
It added that the investigation found no safety deficiencies or concerns regarding the escalators.
BCA said the gap between the escalator’s steps and side panels met safety standards and the escalator’s safety switch was functioning properly.
“As no abnormalities were detected, the escalator was allowed to resume operation after maintenance inspections,” it added. – Straits Times/ANN