Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This is the moment a toddler has his entire arm sucked into an escalator before an eagle-eyed security guard hits the stop button just before the youngster faced having his limbs snapped at the bottom.
The terrifying ordeal happened at the City Star shopping complex in Yuanjiang, which is in Central China’s Hunan Province, on 5th July.
CCTV cameras show the two-year-old and his mum riding the escalator down when he suddenly ends up on his back and wailing in pain.
His shocked mum bends over to try and pick him up, but the steps continue moving downwards and threaten to break the tot’s right arm as they reach the floor panel below.
The security guard sprints into the crowd and presses the emergency stop button at 5:35pm local time, averting what would have reportedly been severe injuries by just one second.
But the toddler remained with his right arm trapped in the gap between the escalator steps for a further 45 minutes until the fire service could free him.
Picture Credit: AsiaWire
Rescue footage shows firefighters doing their best to comfort the boy as they find a way to free his limb.
His mum can be seen watching helplessly from the other side of the glass handrail as rescuers try to slowly free his arm without causing further injury.
Fireman Liu Cheng said: “By the time we arrived, his family was basically too stricken with panic to convey any effective information regarding how the accident happened.
“The boy himself wouldn’t stop crying. His entire arm was sucked into escalator.
“In the end we used hydraulic equipment to prise the steps apart.
“I comforted him and told him not to cry. He was quite brave and, I think, did his best to endure the pain.”
The tot was carried into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
He is not believed to have suffered any broken bones or life-threatening injuries, but the exact condition of his arm has not been reported.
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