ROME: Dozens of people were injured in a horrific malfunctioning of an escalator that sent people crashing into each other.
It started to malfunction at a station busy with football fans on their way to a Champions League match. Dramatic footage shows the escalator running at such an extreme speed that nobody can get out of the way at the bottom. People on the parallel escalator can be seen trying to pull others to safety.
Seven people were believed to be seriously hurt after the crash, which injured at least 20. A group of CSKA Moscow soccer fans were among those hurt at the city centre station in Rome, Italian news agencies reported. Repubblica station was closed and four ambulances were parked at one of the entrances. CSKA Moscow are due to play AS Roma in the Champions League later this evening.
Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi visited the metro station and said the local transport authority had opened an investigation.
“From what witnesses have said, it seems that some fans were jumping and dancing on the stairs,” Raggi told reporters.
Italian media said some soccer supporters were trapped between the metal plates of the steps.
