Terrifying video captures fans hurt in escalator malfunction

A Champions League match in Rome has been marred by a terrifying pre-game incident as fans were left injured by an out-of-control escalator.

Disturbing footage captured fans hurling down an escalator at the metro station in central Rome after a collapse caused it to speed up out-of-control.

Video of the incident has gone viral on social media, showing the escalator operating at a blistering speed and sending passengers hurtling towards the bottom.

Italian media said they believed it was caused by Russian football fans, in the Italian capital for CSKA Moscow’s match against Roma.

The AGI news agency said that “a large group of CSKA fans, probably under the influence of alcohol, began to jump together, provoking the collapse” of one part of the escalator.

La Repubblica reported (via Reuters) that fans were chanting, singing, and jumping up and down on the escalator before it broke.

The official Twitter account for Rome’s emergency services tweeted a photo of the mangled escalator.

Sky-TG24 television quoted police sources as saying that at least 20 people had been injured, mostly Russians, and that one was in serious condition.

AGI reported that around 15 CSKA fans had been hurt, two of them seriously.

Reuters reported that some fans became trapped under the escalator’s metal plates, and La Repubblica reported that one injury was so serious that it required the amputation of a foot.

According to Reuters, the metro station is currently closed, with multiple ambulances parked at the entrance.

With agencies