11 hurt in Nagoya escalator accident

NAGOYA--An escalator at a subway station here abruptly stopped during the morning rush hour Friday, causing commuters to topple over and sending 11 of them to hospitals with minor injuries.

Commuters check out the escalator that caused an accident Friday morning at the Hisaya-odori Station of the Nagoya municipal subway system in Naka Ward.(PHOTOS BY TAKEO KATO/ THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)

The accident occurred around 8:10 a.m. on the ascending escalator at Hisaya-odori Station in Naka Ward on the Sakura-dori Line of the Nagoya municipal subway system.

About 20 commuters were standing on the left side of the 19-meter-long escalator while five others were walking up on the right side when the escalator stopped, police said.

According to the Naka Police Station, part of the comb-like component installed at the top of the escalator to prevent litter and other objects from getting into the system was broken.

The broken piece slipped into the rotor and dented one of the steps. The escalator system detected the distortion and applied the emergency brake, police said.

According to the city's Transportation Bureau, commuters fell backward when the escalator moved downward a bit after it stopped.

The bureau suspects the escalator reversed because the heavy weight of the people caused the brake system to slip.

Nine men aged between 25 and 59 and two women, 26 and 27, were taken to hospital, some with cuts on their heads.

The escalator connects the platform of the Sakura-dori Line with the tracks of the Meijo Line bound for Kanayama Station.

A senior official of the subway system said the escalator is designed to stop if it detects an impact caused by a distortion in the steps or other parts.

The comb-like cover is replaced during regular monthly inspections. The previous inspection was conducted on April 9, with the next regular checkup scheduled for Friday.

When a station employee checked the escalator around 5 a.m. Friday, no problems were found.

According to Nippon Otis Elevator Co., the Japanese unit of the elevator and escalator maker, the escalator in question was manufactured around March 1989 and installed in September the same year.(IHT/Asahi: May 10,2008)