Faulty escalators have been blamed for several accidents lately, with one even taking a mother's life. (Photo : YouTube)
Last week, a series of accidents involving escalators and elevators in China highlighted the dangers caused by poor supervision and maintenance of the machines.
On July 26, a 31-year-old woman died after she fell through the gap that suddenly opened at the top of an escalator at a shopping mall in Jingzhou, Hubei Province in Central China.
The following day, a 1-year-old boy's left arm was ripped off by an escalator at a mall in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China.
The same day, a young female factory worker was killed after she got stuck in the gap between an elevator and the floor in her workplace at Jiangsu Province in Wuxi, East China.
On Aug. 1, there were reports of a male cleaner's leg being amputated after it was trapped in an escalator.
China's Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said that there are 3.6 million escalators and elevators in China. During the first half of 2015, almost five out of every hundred of the roughly 2 million escalators and elevators inspected across 31 mainland provincial-level regions were found to have problems.
A great number of China's escalators and elevators are reaching the end of their service life, since many of them were built after 2003. According to the AQSIQ, about 40 percent of elevators and escalators are more than 5 years old, while 9 percent have been in service for over 10 years.
In the past two years, there have been a total of 165 accidents related to escalators and elevators, killing no less than 93 people.
According to Gao Feng, an expert who has been working in the escalator and elevator industry for 18 years, the competitive nature of the industry makes companies cut corners to save on costs, allowing the accidents to take place.
Gao said that sometimes, maintenance firms will employ very few employees, to lower labor costs. This means that each employee has to do more work, forcing them to rush.
Government regulations require businesses that use escalators and elevators to obtain the necessary permits, but some companies and people have been found to be working with the machines without having the proper permits or training. As a result, there have been reports of workers being killed while maintaining the escalators and elevators.
In response to issues concerning the machines, the government has ruled that building management is responsible for inspecting, cleaning and maintaining their escalators and elevators at least once every 15 days. Many firms do not bother to take these measures.
The administration said that it will take steps to make sure caution is taken on the manufacturers end, requiring a transparent environment for elevator maintenance and the provision of after-sales maintenance.
