Fire brigade call to Sinn Leffers Toddler was alone on escalator before accident
Bonn · On Friday, a toddler who had got his hand caught in an escalator at the Sinn Leffers fashion house in Bonn had to be rescued. The accident raises questions.
The accident of a small child on an escalator in a textile department store in Bonn on Friday has raised some questions, especially about the safety of escalators. The child, who is two and a half years old according to a department manager of the store, had got his hand caught on the escalator on Friday evening, but was freed immediately. According to the fire department, he was not injured.
"The escalator stopped immediately," the department manager told the GA on Monday when asked. Escalators are usually designed to stop automatically if something gets stuck. He also said that employees, including trained first-aiders, immediately took care of the child and rescued it from the situation. The handrail of the escalator had to be unscrewed.
The child's mother was located a short distance away on the floor, the head of department knows from employees who had observed the event. "Unfortunately, it happens again and again that we observe small children alone at the escalator", says the department manager. Most of the time, employees intervene immediately, but on Friday evening it was so crowded in his store that the child was only seen when he was already in his predicament.
Warning about the dangers on escalators
This is a problem that also exists in other department stores in the city of Bonn, as employees report to the GA. Some parents literally let their children play on escalators. But this is dangerous, as examples of other accidents on escalators with a not-so-gentle outcome show.
The Bonn-based association "Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Sicherheit für Kinder" (Federal Working Group for Child Safety) regularly warns about the dangers on escalators, among other things. The association advises parents to hold small children by the hand. They should also remember the position of the emergency stop switches. It is also forbidden to use an escalator with prams or strollers.
(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
