We can’t stress enough that escalators aren’t playgrounds, especially
In May last year, 7-year-old girl Nurul Emielda Nadia Sallehuddin fell to her death while she was playing with the escalator’s handrail belt at The Gardens Mall. Then moving handrail left lifted her, after which she lost her balance and plunged to her death. Just a couple of months ago, a 6-year-old girl fell to her death at Kenanga Wholesale City when she was playing near the escalator.
And just this morning, we got word that a toddler’s hand was severed at the wrist after it got caught in an escalator at the KL Sentral in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.
First reported by Harian Metro, 15-month-old Mohd Afkar Daniel Freedy was believed to have been playing near the escalator when the incident happened about 6:30am on Monday (15th June). Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad said his parents were busy shopping and was not aware that he had wandered off towards the escalator.
He was quoted as saying:
The victim is believed to have taken the escalator from the second floor to the first floor when his hand got caught. His hand was severed at the wrist and the severed part fell into the gaps between the escalator. A member of the auxiliary police who was nearby rushed to Mohd Afkar Daniel’s aid before the boy was sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
The severed hand was only recovered 2 hours later, the report said.
This breaks our hearts and we truly hope that the boy will fully recover as soon as possible.
On another note, please, please always keep an eye on your children to avoid future accidents like these. It’s incredibly important to always keep them close or within view.
Sources: Malaysian Edition, The Star Online.
