Elderly Tumbled Down Escalator in Hillion Mall & Has to be Sent to Hospital

Everyone knows how painful it can be to fall down on an escalator just by looking at one, what with the sharp edges on each step.

Unfortunately, one elderly has experienced the pain on 3 September 2020.

Elderly Tumbled Down Escalator in Hillion Mall & Has to be Sent to Hospital

Hillion Mall is a relatively new mall located in Bukit Panjang, and gained publicity recently due to its proximity to the Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub COVID-19 cluster.

This time, it got into the news for another reason: an escalator accident.

According to Wanbao, an elderly man, who appears to be in his seventies, fell from an escalator in the mall when he was going from Basement One to Basement Two

It’s unknown why he had fallen.

According to an eyewitness, he was “rolling down” the escalator and landed at the foot of the escalator, and couldn’t stand up after that.

Someone immediately pressed the emergency button to stop the escalator as a nurse and a doctor rushed over to help with first-aid kit.

The elderly’s wife was in tears but thankfully, the man didn’t appear to be badly injured as he was able to speak when the ambulance arrived to take him to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Why Are The Edges of Escalator Steps Sharp?

I bet one of the reasons why kids don’t jump around on escalators is because the edges of the steps look like knifes ready to draw blood.

But why?

Whether it’s to keep children in check is up to anyone’s guess, but the real reason is actually for safety.

You see, if there’s a “comb-shaped” end, people’s feet, clothes or whatever won’t get stuck at the edge as those “edges” would push out any object.

If something does get stuck between the end of an escalator and a step, it’d cause a sudden halt and, well, you should know the consequences.

Or maybe its primary objective is also to scare kids. Who knows.