Boy, 7, hurt in mall escalator incident

Boy, 7, hurt in mall escalator incident

A boy had his head caught between the side of the fourth storey floor and the escalator railing at Junction 8 mall.

The seven-year-old was going up from the third storey near the Best Denki store at about 2pm on Thursday when it happened.

He suffered abrasions and was taken to hospital where he is in stable condition.

A retail worker on the third storey who wanted to be known only as John, 25, said he went to check what had happened after he heard a child crying.

RESCUED IN 10 MINUTES

He said: "By then, the escalator had stopped and passers-by were trying to get the boy out safely.

"There was a huge group of 20 to 30 people around the escalator while the rescue was going on. I could also see security guards rushing to the escalator."

The boy was freed after 10 minutes, he said.

Another retail worker, who declined to be named, said: "When I heard the boy screaming, I thought there was a fight or someone had hit him... Luckily, a passer-by pressed the emergency stop button of the escalator.

"I was so afraid for the boy. What if the escalator didn't stop?"

Ms Zen Lee, the marketing communications manager of Junction 8, said that people saw the boy leaning his head over the railing on the escalator when it got caught.

She said: "Shoppers nearby promptly activated the escalator's emergency stop button and helped the boy to safety and called an ambulance while our staff quickly went to the scene when we were alerted to this incident.

"When the paramedics arrived, the boy was found to have sustained an abrasion on his neck. We are providing every assistance to the boy and his family."

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it received a call at 1.59pm and the boy was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.


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