On the afternoon of April 4, a woman in Shanghai was "involved" by an escalator in a supermarket, and was sent to the hospital for rescue after fire rescue, and is still in the ICU of the hospital. According to a report on the 7th, the woman's husband said that there is still a risk of amputation, and the relevant departments are investigating the cause of the accident.
The supermarket is open for business The pictures in this article were taken by reporter Jiang Lelai
On April 8, the supermarket involved had resumed normal business, and the staff who pressed the emergency stop button on the same day also recalled the incident to reporters again.
In the hospital, the injured are still waiting for surgery, and her husband, Mr. Lu, begins to worry that one day the incident will no longer be noticed, and he feels a little unsure.
Why can the elevator still operate normally when a piece is missing? When someone is stuck in half of the body, why does the elevator still not stop automatically? In this regard, some people in the industry analyzed to reporters that the "safety detection switch" in the escalator is worth paying attention to.
On the evening of the 8th, Su Dongjun, deputy director of the Fengxian District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, said in an interview with the media that the current preliminary judgment is that the direct cause of the accident is the displacement and loosening of the escalator pedal fixing ring, which caused the pedal to fall off, the upper and lower pedals are missing, and the protection device fails.
Supermarket involved: Closed for businessAt around 19 o'clock on April 8, the reporter came to the supermarket involved, which has resumed normal business. There are many customers in the supermarket, who come and go to select the goods on the shelves, and some counters are also shouting. Some customers are talking about the elevator incident, while others say they don't know.
The escalator has been discontinued
The reporter saw from the scene that the escalator of the "involved" woman was located on the left side of the entrance of the supermarket, and objects such as cordon and shopping carts were currently placed, indicating the words "elevator routine maintenance" and "no traffic". The upper and lower entrances of the opposite side of the escalator are also treated in the same way. Currently, customers need to follow the sales staff's instructions to go up and down the stairs from the corner.
According to the salesperson, the supermarket has resumed business on the evening of April 7 and opened according to normal business hours on the 8th. A few days ago, the supermarket was closed in order to cooperate with the relevant departments to investigate the cause of the accident. Looking back on the day of the incident, a salesperson said that the main situation was as presented in the online video. The lack of steps should have been shortly before the woman walked up the escalator, and no one noticed it before.
Staff who press the panic button: The escalator has been checked regularlyOn the day of the incident, a figure who came from the top of the escalator and pressed the emergency button attracted the attention of many netizens. On the evening of April 8, the reporter confirmed that he was Mr. Li, a supermarket worker.
In an interview with reporters, Mr. Li said that he happened to pack up his shopping basket and go upstairs that day. On the elevator, as soon as he heard someone shouting from behind, he quickly ran back to help, and also took the tools.
The scene of the incident
Recalling the incident, Mr. Li added "hurry up" before each of his actions. He said, "What if you get dragged up there? A minute more, a minute less and you'll ......."
In Mr. Li's impression, the current ramp-shaped elevator, also known as the moving sidewalk, was installed around 2018, and it was a stepped escalator before. Until the occurrence of the "rolling man" incident, the elevator did not have a major failure.
He also told reporters that there will be personnel to inspect the elevator twice a month, and there will also be an annual inspection every year. This year's annual inspection is probably carried out around the time of the Chinese New Year. It can also be seen on the "special equipment use sign" posted on the side of the escalator that the next inspection and testing date is "2025-02".
Husband of the injured person: I hope to get substantive evidence as soon as possibleOn 8 April, the victim's husband, Mr. Lu, was still in the hospital, and there was no new progress in his treatment, and the "debridement" scheduled for 7 April was cancelled. He was waiting for his wife's next surgery.
Mr. Lu told reporters that on the afternoon of the 8th, a leader went to the hospital to offer condolences, and he was told that the other party was a community leader. During the conversation, Mr. Lu said that he hoped to obtain a substantive evidence as soon as possible, such as the results of the investigation and the determination of responsibility. Compared with before, he was quite relieved, but now he is a little unsteady, worried that the heat will pass, and his wife's treatment will not be guaranteed as it should be.
On the afternoon of the 8th, the WeChat public account of "Shanghai Market Supervision" announced that the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau will carry out a one-month special action to investigate and rectify potential safety hazards of escalators and moving walks throughout the city.
At 8:48 that night, the WeChat public account of "Shanghai Fengxian" issued a circular, which said: Fengxian District Market Supervision Bureau has taken the lead in setting up an accident investigation team to investigate the relevant units involved, and will update relevant information in a timely manner according to the investigation to respond to social concerns. After the incident, a special inspection was carried out on the special equipment in use in commercial and public places in the whole region.
There is no shortage of customers in the supermarket
Industry insiders: moving walkways should have safety detection switches and other protection devicesWhile concerned about the treatment of the woman's injuries, the cause of the accident and the elevator safety norms will inevitably become the focus. Why does the elevator have a vacant pedal, why can it still operate normally when the pedal is vacant, how should the accident liability be determined, and what are the requirements for elevator maintenance?
For the above questions, I interviewed Jin Hailiang, deputy secretary general of Shanghai Elevator Industry Association.
Regarding the cause of the accident, Jin Hailiang believes that there are several possibilities, but it is still necessary to wait for experts to make an identification. On the one hand, it is necessary to consider whether it is a product quality problem, such as the presence of cracks that cause damage to the components. It is also possible that in the process of use and maintenance, the fixing parts are not tightened, and it may fall off when it encounters external forces.
On the day of the incident, the woman was "involved" in the elevator before.
Jin Hailiang said that the steps of escalators and moving walks are empty, and there are many moving parts in the space below, such as detection devices and protective devices, and it is very dangerous for people to fall down.
In the video, the escalator still runs upwards after the woman falls into the missing part of the step. So when such an accident occurs, can the escalator automatically stop running?
In this regard, Jin Hailiang thinks that it should be possible, and there are many protective devices inside the escalator. For example, when a child is playing, if his hand reaches into the gap next to him, it will automatically stop as long as the safety detection switch is triggered, or if the chain breaks, it will automatically stop after detecting it.
In response to this incident, Jin Hailiang further analyzed that there should be a missing step protection device in the escalator, and the escalator should be able to stop running after detection of the missing and deformed steps. Whether these protective devices can work and whether the gap adjustment triggered by the switch is in place should be closely monitored during the usual maintenance inspection.
The stairs that customers take to go up and down the stairs
In terms of escalator maintenance, Jin Hailiang said that generally speaking, the owner will entrust maintenance to the property, and the property will hire a professional maintenance company to carry it out. Maintenance workers will maintain in strict accordance with the maintenance project, and the specific maintenance project and interval days are clearly stated in the maintenance contract.
At the same time as regular inspections, inspections should also be carried out at ordinary times, and timely feedback will be given if there is any abnormality. In addition to maintenance, a special testing agency should be invited to conduct annual inspection every year, and there is a complete set of process specifications in terms of safety.
Jin Hailiang told reporters that generally speaking, the service life of the escalator is 15 years, and it is commonly known as the "old elevator" at this time. But at the same time, the service life of the elevator is not only related to time, but also related to working conditions. Different occasions and different traffic will affect the service life. If the operation is not always at full load, the wear is less and the life is longer. Therefore, 15 years is a popular saying, and in actual use, it is necessary to entrust a professional testing agency to conduct a risk assessment.
In recent years, many escalators or moving walks have been equipped with smart technology. Jin Hailiang said that through intelligent means of detection, preventive maintenance can be carried out, prevention before it happens, and public safety can be guaranteed. At the same time, he also called on people to take the elevator in a civilized manner in their daily life, and the producers, maintenance parties, and users jointly maintain the safety of the elevator.