Woman's arm caught in gap between escalator and wall in Bugis Junction
The glass portion of an escalator railing in Bugis Junction was shattered by passers-by in a bid to free a woman whose arm was said to have been stuck in a gap between an escalator and a wall.
The incident, which happened at about 9.20pm on Thursday evening, left glass shards strewn across the top of the down-riding escalator at the basement level leading towards Bugis MRT station.
Mr Javian Tham, 19, an Institute of Technical Education student, told The Straits Times yesterday that he was among the six people who helped to free the woman's arm by pulling on the escalator railing.
"The woman had just got onto the escalator and somehow, her arm instantly got caught in the small gap," said Mr Tham, who immediately pressed the escalator's emergency stop button.
"She did not seem to panic much but kept moving backwards to stop herself from falling," he added.
He said that as the woman was unable to free herself, he and two other men "grabbed the railing and pulled as hard as possible" till the glass panel shattered.
One of them had also earlier poured a bottle of water over the woman's arm to help ease it out of the gap.
Three women also stepped forward to help, he added.
The woman, who did not seem to be able to speak English, remained silent throughout the 10- to 15- minute ordeal, he said, adding that she was with a man.
Mr Tham, who was heading home after a visit to the gym, said he suffered minor cuts on his left leg from the glass shards.
Bugis Junction managing agent Wong Joo Siong told The Straits Times yesterday that it was informed of the incident.
Mr Wong had previously told The Straits Times that the woman's dress had been caught in the escalator.
"Security personnel were immediately deployed to assist and cordon off the affected area," he said, adding that nobody was hurt in the incident.
He added that the affected escalator is closed for repairs.
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