Girl freed by SCDF officers after foot gets stuck in escalator at Rivervale Mall

A young girl had to be freed by personnel from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) after her foot was trapped in an escalator at Rivervale Mall in Sengkang.

The incident happened on Thursday (Aug 29), at around 4pm, Shin Min Daily News reported.

According to a Shin Min reader, the girl was travelling down the escalator from the second to the first floor when the accident occurred.

When reporters from the Chinese evening daily arrived at the scene, a group of close to 10 SCDF officers were seen gathered at the escalator landing, surrounded by a throng of curious onlookers.

An employee at a shop nearby told Shin Min that she'd heard a loud sound at about 3.50pm. At the same time, a person shouted for someone to help press the escalator's emergency stop button.

"When I turned around, I saw a young girl of about five or six wearing a pair of rubber sandals which had gotten stuck in the escalator. The girl was very scared and crying," said the staff member, identified as Isha (transliteration), 23.

In a photo of the incident published online, a single pink sandal can be seen wedged in between the side of the escalator and the steps.

According to Isha, the girl didn't appear to be hurt as she stopped crying after a while.

"Her parents were by her side holding her and they looked very anxious. The mum looked like she was crying while the father comforted the girl," Isha told Shin Min.

She added that SCDF personnel arrived after about 10 minutes and took an estimated 40 minutes to extricate the girl, before she was examined by paramedics.

"There was no sign of injury or blood," said Isha.

Shin Min reported that when the girl was finally freed, her parents immediately rushed forward to hug her.

In a reply to AsiaOne's query, an SCDF spokesperson stated that it had received a call for assistance at about 4pm on Aug 29.

"A child's right leg was trapped in an escalator at level 1. SCDF freed the child using hydraulic rescue equipment and conveyed the child to KK Women's and Children's Hospital," added the spokesperson.

Just last month, SCDF officers were also called in after a boy's foot was stuck in an escalator at Jurong Point mall.

Screams and crying could be heard from the boy near the first-floor escalator, eyewitnesses reported in the July 14 incident.

Photos circulating on a Reddit Singapore thread show a blue rubber slipper caught in a gap at the side of the downward-moving escalator, which appeared to be closed for maintenance after the accident. 

ALSO READ: Boy ends up requiring stitches after hand gets trapped in City Plaza escalator

candicecai@asiaone.com