An escalator broke down at Quarry Bay MTR station Thursday morning, but no one was injured. Photo: Facebook (Andrew Chan)
MTR Corp. is investigating an escalator breakdown that happened at Quarry Bay MTR station at around 9.20 am Thursday morning.
According to RTHK, an escalator came to a halt suddenly after some metal pieces broke off and some steps near the top were damaged.
The damaged escalator was at the transit passage between platforms of Tseung Kwan O Line and Island Line.
Some passengers were riding the escalator at the time of the accident, but no one was injured as they jumped off from the crushed steps in time.
One of the passengers — a person named Andrew Chan — later posted a message on social media saying that it was a scary incident and that his right knee was hurting a bit as he had to jump abruptly.
MTR officials told reporters that the escalator operator had completed an inspection, and that a foreign object — a screw — was found in the equipment.
It is believed that the screw was sucked into the gap between a step and an escalator comb plate, triggering an emergency halt of the operation.
MTR said replacement of the damaged parts and a full-scale inspection will be conducted after today’s service.
Thursday’s incident was not the first accident involving escalators in Hong Kong recently.
On August 3, there was an incident involving an escalator at Times Square, Causeway Bay, while another incident took place four days later at Telford Plaza in Kowloon Bay.
Earlier, on June 6, an escalator at Shau Kei Wan Station near exit C saw a comb plate break off into pieces.
Mom and baby escape as stroller wheels get stuck in escalator (Aug. 5, 2015)
Pieces of escalator break off at Times Square in HK, no one hurt (Aug. 3, 2015)
MTR escalator mishap down to a shoe (Aug. 4, 2014)
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Hong Kong has seen quite a few escalator-related accidents in recent months. Photos: Apple Daily, EJ Insight
Breakdown locations included Kowloon Bay MTR station and Times Square in Causeway Bay. Photos: Apple Daily, Facebook
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