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Henk van Ellm, safety director at Otis, a company specializing in elevators and escalators, is in shock. "Incredible that such a thing could happen.For the 25 years that I have been working in the Netherlands, I have never experienced anything like it."
"Doubt about a Cause"
The Mayor from Rome announced today that the accident may have been caused by fans of CSKA Moscow, dancing and jumping, just before the match of the Champions League against AS Roma. Van Ellm has doubts about this. "I just can not imagine, in the event of an emergency, the escalator is slowed down, theoretically it is possible that the drive breaks down, which causes the fall of the aircraft. mechanical escalator and its gravitational acceleration – compare that to a car you have released while staying on a slope, but I would not know what the reader could do. "
" But then, if these Russians were heavy and they were really jumping up and down, the escalator could theoretically go "
But safety expert Koos van Lindenberg of the Liftinstituut does not exclude that. "I know that the escalators installed in the Netherlands are equipped with a safety factor of 3 to 5. This is calculated in relation to the maximum number of people who can use an escalator.This was probably the case In Italy, then, if these Russians were on the heavy side and jumped really high and low, the escalator could do it in theory. "
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" The escalator's nightmare for Rome caused by jumping fans "[19659008] It also depends on the performance of the Italian escalator. Van Lindenberg: "In the Netherlands, most escalator workouts are dimensionally stable, which means that the drive chains on which the steps are mounted are directly coupled to the motor. of the escalator.There are older escalators, where the engine with a heavy chain transmission is coupled to the escalator walking chain.In case of failure, an emergency brake is still available to prevent the staircase from escaping, in theory this may be the case in Italy and the emergency brake does not work or does not work properly, but this continues to speculate. "[19659008] "Maintenance could play a role"
Poor maintenance could play a role in all of this, but even experts do not dare to decide before having already seen the escalator. According to Van Lindenberg, skipping intensely on the escalator may have led to the failure of one or more steps. This would have resulted in trapping of limbs and injuries.
Those who think of escalators are thinking about China soon. Movies in which people went through an escalator, with sometimes fatal consequences, are well known. Van Lindenberg: "In the Netherlands, you have to comply with very strict regulations, in this way the authorities regularly check the brake.China has experienced extremely rapid growth in the production of escalators and d & # 39; At the beginning of this period, the security requirements were not at the European level, but even if the Roman escalator came from China, it should be safe. market in Europe must be in accordance with EU regulations. "
" The biggest danger is personal use, which means that sleeves and laces, for example, are placed between the marches "
No reason for panic in the Netherlands then, say the experts. Van Lindenberg: "The greatest danger is caused by personal use, which means, for example, that sleeves and laces are placed between the steps." Nevertheless, it does not rule out that escalators in the Netherlands are further strengthened, though it turns out that the Rome accident the jump is caused. "We may need to increase the security factor to 6 or 7."
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