Until the social media boom of the late two-thousands, there are certain social issues that remained in the dark. These are stories we only hear happening to a distant relative, an unfortunate person on the news, or a friend of a friend—at a distance all the same.
What this tells us is that we have not done enough to raise awareness to these issues.
But now that information travels with increasing rapidity—a tap of the button is all it takes—we realize that they have been happening for a while, and they could happen to us.
2015 marked the beginning of the epidemic involving children and escalators, highlighted by the death of Chongqing toddler after he got stuck in a metro walkway—a viral sensation throughout the world.
Just a few weeks ago, a girl lost half a finger when her hand got stuck in an escalator railing and the platform.
However, despite the extensiveness with which these kinds of stories have been covered, it seems like they are not stopping anytime soon: recently yet another helpless toddler plummets to her death while she and her friends were playing unsupervised on an escalator.
In the video acquired by Chinese news outlet People’s Daily Online, it shows a group of toddlers, all girls, running around and having fun on an escalator platform.
At one point a toddler, later identified as Ximei, latches on the escalator railing. It carries her upward, and in a few seconds could be seen holding on for dear life.
She disappears from from view, only to appear latter already free-falling. Stunned, Ximei’s friends return to the escalator platform to see what has happened.
Three-year-old Ximei was at the mall with her grandmother, Ms. Liu, who ran a booth in a shopping center. At 11 AM that day, she heard people screaming, rushed out of her booth, and that’s when she saw her granddaughter lying lifeless on the floor.
The Blame Game
Ms Liu said in her statement that because Ximei was very obedient she could be left alone. Ms. Liu also placed blamed on the shopping mall because its escalators rarely ran, she said, and at most operated two to three times a month.
The spokesman for shopping mall on the other hand said that all escalators in the mall comply with full safety requirements and are not faulty in any way. He also added that, “the child is so young, the parents should look after her well.”
Escalator safety tips
- Watch the direction of the moving steps. When stepping on, refrain from standing on the yellow lines as they separate to form steps as the escalator moves.
- Hold on to your kid’s hands. Little children may not have a balance as good as yours, so make sure that you steady your child and keep them close to you.
- Don’t bring bulky or heavy things onto the escalator. Besides blocking the way of other users, carrying big items like prams or shopping carts may hinder your movement and cause you to fall more easily.
Read more tips on how to prevent escalator mishaps.
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