12-Year-Old Thai Girl In Coma After Future Park Rangsit Escalator Accident

[webfact]

ACCIDENT

Girl, 12, in coma after escalator accident

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A 12-year-old girl is in a critical condition after her head got stuck between an escalator and the upper floor as the escalator was moving up at Future Park Rangsit, a mega-mall north of Bangkok yesterday.

Nuanprae Wasutpichaikul's hair got entangled in the escalator while she bent down to watch a show on the second floor of the mall while standing on an escalator moving from the second to the third floor.

Before security guards could stop the escalator, Nuanprae passed out. Nuanprae stopped breathing but paramedics were able to resuscitate her. She was rushed to Pathumwet Hospital.

Wichitra Wasutpichaikul, Nuanprae's mother, fainted when she saw her daughter's head stuck to the escalator.

She later said she had dropped her daughter off at the mall to study at a tuition centre.

She had told her daughter to go ahead and attend her class while she was searching for a place to park.

Doctors said the girl has a blood clot in the brain and is in coma.

-- The Nation 2012-09-10

[toenail]

Gross, poor thing. Now I know why some escalators have clear plastic before the moving railing meets a wall.

[bdw]

That's absolutely horrifying.

[seahorse]

This is why escalators usually have a sign saying that children should be accompanied by an adult.

[theblether]

So sorry young sweetheart, such a simple touch of childhood excitement brings such terrible consequences.

Many of us reading this topic can remember the near miss we had in childhood.

All of us pray for your recovery.

[Thai at Heart]

This is why escalators usually have a sign saying that children should be accompanied by an adult.

Well. Wait for it. Considering how old future park is, i wouldn't be surprised if the guards on tgd escalator were missing or some other problem.

[ratcatcher]

This is why escalators usually have a sign saying that children should be accompanied by an adult.

Well. Wait for it. Considering how old future park is, i wouldn't be surprised if the guards on tgd escalator were missing or some other problem.

Regardless of the age of Future Park, the escalators are all in good condition and I have rarely seen a "guard" around them. Normally people riding on these people movers don't allow their hair to come in contact with the moving steps. This was a rare accident,sad indeed, but IMHO hardly negligence on the part of F.P. I hope she recovers soon.

[Thai at Heart]

This is why escalators usually have a sign saying that children should be accompanied by an adult.

Well. Wait for it. Considering how old future park is, i wouldn't be surprised if the guards on tgd escalator were missing or some other problem.

Regardless of the age of Future Park, the escalators are all in good condition and I have rarely seen a "guard" around them. Normally people riding on these people movers don't allow their hair to come in contact with the moving steps. This was a rare accident,sad indeed, but IMHO hardly negligence on the part of F.P. I hope she recovers soon.

As i said lets see.

Walking around most shopping centres u can find pinch points and gaps betwesn railings that would be eliminated by elf and safety. One kid broke an arm going up an escalator here because of hiw tge escalator hand rail moved passes tge solid balustrade. I noticed the day the place opened.

Here these issues are eliminated by Darwinism.

[BookMan]

You hear about these things happening and pass them off as urban legends and then it actually happens.

[Hockeybik]

This is why escalators usually have a sign saying that children should be accompanied by an adult.

Well. Wait for it. Considering how old future park is, i wouldn't be surprised if the guards on tgd escalator were missing or some other problem.

Regardless of the age of Future Park, the escalators are all in good condition and I have rarely seen a "guard" around them. Normally people riding on these people movers don't allow their hair to come in contact with the moving steps. This was a rare accident,sad indeed, but IMHO hardly negligence on the part of F.P. I hope she recovers soon.

As i said lets see.

Walking around most shopping centres u can find pinch points and gaps betwesn railings that would be eliminated by elf and safety. One kid broke an arm going up an escalator here because of hiw tge escalator hand rail moved passes tge solid balustrade. I noticed the day the place opened.

Here these issues are eliminated by Darwinism.

The "Darwinism" reference is a little cruel when applied to a 12 year old. And I would expect that 12 years is old enough to safely ride an escalator.

[geriatrickid]

You hear about these things happening and pass them off as urban legends and then it actually happens.

Urban myth? Not really. Reporting depends upon a country's surveillance system. As such the USA has the best statistics followed by the EU. Let's use the USA numbers since the USA has the most comprehensive tracking.

The USA reports approx. 8,000-10,000 escalator injuries in any given year. In children, it is typically the loss of fingers and toes, lacerations and strangulation when garments become entangled in the machinery. In the elderly, it is typically trips. slips and falls. (See 2001 Neiss Analysis)

ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2008) — In the first large scale national study of escalator-related injuries to older adults, researchers led by Joseph O'Neil, M.D., MPH, and Greg Steele, Dr.PH., MPH, of the Indiana University School of Medicine, report that the rate of these injuries Using U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data, the researchers found nearly 40,000 older adults were injured on escalators between 1991 and 2005. The most frequent cause of injury was a slip, trip or fall resulting in a bruise or contusion. The most common injuries were to the lower extremities. However, most injuries were not serious. Only 8 percent of the 39,800 injured were admitted to the hospital after evaluation in an emergency department.

Ok, so let's apply this to Thailand. Well, typically, Thai facilities with escalators tend to be modern. The equipment manufacturers are almost always the Japanese and EU companies that have kept up with safety changes through the years. I'd suggest then that Thai escalators are as safe if not safer than escalators in the EU and North America simply because they are newer and feature safety features that one won't see in the buildings and facilities that date back to the 1960's in the EU and USA.

[JeremyBowskill]

Best wishes to the young girl and hope she gets well soon but also hopes it doesn't start some kind of crackdown on escalators as watching hillbillies trying to ride them at the mall is the only thing that makes going to the mall almost worthwhile. Particularly like the ones who have to stop and count themselfs down before getting on.

[hegenious]

And you standing there and waiting for it to happen, right?

Get a life.

I am sorry for what happened to the kid, and I hope she fully recovers. :-[

[cloudhopper]

Many of us reading this topic can remember the near miss we had in childhood.

And the ones after that too.

It's always better to be lucky than good, even though we usually misinterpret the former as the latter.

[Thai at Heart]

The "Darwinism" reference is a little cruel when applied to a 12 year old. And I would expect that 12 years is old enough to safely ride an escalator.

My comment wasn't referring to her specifically. It is a tragic accident, supposing that everything was in perfect working order.

Whilst we bemoan the prevalence of the "health and safety" culture in the western world, the constant checking and monitoring of the design of public areas that goes on, goes a long way to making sure that accidents are extremely unlikely to occur. I still can't quite visualise how she managed to get her hair caught, but lets wait for the report. I have taught my kids to keep their feet away from the edges of escalators since they were very little, but that comes from remembering a story when I was a kid of a child getting their shoe caught, and it dragging their toes into the gap. Bearing in mind, kids here wear flip flops, it doesn't bear thinking about.

[Curt1591]

One question I have is why the "Thai" girl designation in the title of this thread. Is that of any relevance?

[Thai at Heart]

http://www.dailynews.co.th/crime/154203

Very sad. Concrete structure right next to the escalator. Amazed, nothing has happened before.

[BookMan]

You hear about these things happening and pass them off as urban legends and then it actually happens.

Urban myth? Not really. Reporting depends upon a country's surveillance system. As such the USA has the best statistics followed by the EU. Let's use the USA numbers since the USA has the most comprehensive tracking.

The USA reports approx. 8,000-10,000 escalator injuries in any given year. In children, it is typically the loss of fingers and toes, lacerations and strangulation when garments become entangled in the machinery. In the elderly, it is typically trips. slips and falls. (See 2001 Neiss Analysis)

ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2008) — In the first large scale national study of escalator-related injuries to older adults, researchers led by Joseph O'Neil, M.D., MPH, and Greg Steele, Dr.PH., MPH, of the Indiana University School of Medicine, report that the rate of these injuries Using U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data, the researchers found nearly 40,000 older adults were injured on escalators between 1991 and 2005. The most frequent cause of injury was a slip, trip or fall resulting in a bruise or contusion. The most common injuries were to the lower extremities. However, most injuries were not serious. Only 8 percent of the 39,800 injured were admitted to the hospital after evaluation in an emergency department.

Ok, so let's apply this to Thailand. Well, typically, Thai facilities with escalators tend to be modern. The equipment manufacturers are almost always the Japanese and EU companies that have kept up with safety changes through the years. I'd suggest then that Thai escalators are as safe if not safer than escalators in the EU and North America simply because they are newer and feature safety features that one won't see in the buildings and facilities that date back to the 1960's in the EU and USA.

I am surprised by these high number of injuries you have provided GK, (though I neither doubt or dispute them for a minute).

I guess there is a not a lot of publicity regarding such happenings, esp related to children losing a toe or finger. Not really in the interest of large shopping malls and the media companies that accept their advertising to publicise the incidents too much.

I think most modern escalators have stop buttons at the top now.

[yourauntbob]

My prayers will be with her

[TwoDogz]

Kids being kids...no matter how much you tell them.

My daughter has very long hair and at times just doing something innocently stupid and so quick, she could easily get her hair caught in it.

I always try to keep her alongside me and explain it to her, but kids ignore such.

[saengsureeya]

The "Darwinism" reference is a little cruel when applied to a 12 year old. And I would expect that 12 years is old enough to safely ride an escalator.

Darwinism? I thought it was more something like Murphy's Law.

Accidents happen and blaming who ever is out of the question.

[McMagus]

Very sad. My mum who was 89 yrs old at the time (back in Oz), had a fall on an escalator when it suddenly stopped. So accidents and malfunctions can and do happen. Mum broke some bones and never really recovered and died a year later. But as for escalators here... In Paragon, the clear plastic guard rail is, in my opinion too short. I am about 180 cm and I think the 'topple height' is too low. Topple height is that point where it is easy to topple over. I always stand near the centre and away from the edge. But maybe I am just a geriatric with a low death threshold.

[1bbcd5]

WOW!!! Nice Post!Kind Regards.

[TwoDogz]

just saw the pic...looks very close and no plastic hanger, not that a pissy piece of plastic should be the main defence of a major design and safety flaw.

[Thai at Heart]

Protective barriers, ceiling deflectors, wedging guards

With escalators and moving walks arranged in a

crisscross pattern or with floor openings, there

is a risk of wedging between balustrades and

adjacent escalator/moving walk bodies or ceilings

and columns. If the distance between the center

of the handrail and the obstacle is less than 0.5 m,

wedging guards or ceiling deflectors are

to be provided by the customers.

Appropriate structural measures must be installed to

prevent people from accessing escalators or moving

walks from the side. Protective barriers and guards

should be provided on the balustrades where

necessary.

Protective barriers, guards against climbing the

balustrades, ceiling deflectors and wedging guards

can also be supplied by Schindler as an option

http://www.schindler...r_esc___mw_.pdf

Looking at the pictures, seems that there was no guard to protect anyone getting their head or arm wedged between the concrete structure and the moving arm rest.

Edited September 10, 2012 by Thai at Heart

[spirit47]

The construction is not safety, when this can happen. Not enough place to the concrete, and no saftyshield. But have maybe 100m² more, and safe some money...How the hair got entangeld?

The rest is horrible, I don't want know, how long the Rescue-team need to come there and reanimate her.

[WyattEarp]

Ok, so let's apply this to Thailand. Well, typically, Thai facilities with escalators tend to be modern. The equipment manufacturers are almost always the Japanese and EU companies that have kept up with safety changes through the years. I'd suggest then that Thai escalators are as safe if not safer than escalators in the EU and North America simply because they are newer and feature safety features that one won't see in the buildings and facilities that date back to the 1960's in the EU and USA.

You obviously haven't seen the escalators in Tukcum Pattaya.

[Soutpeel]

One question I have is why the "Thai" girl designation in the title of this thread. Is that of any relevance?

Yes, because if was a non-thai child, they would have been blaming those pesky foreigners for not knowing how to use a Thai escalator properly...

[Payboy]

Sad story and hope she recovers.

I've seen a small kids shoe lace getting stuck in the escalator at a major mall in Bangkok. Luckily, the kid could just take off the shoe before it was totally crushed at the top step. Auto-stop if it existed, didn't work.

[hyperdimension]

They should have had a "mind your head" sign a distance before the pinch.

Edited September 10, 2012 by hyperdimension