NEW DELHI: A viral video of an incident that happened on Tuesday at an Italian metro station is circulating on social media sites which shows a speeding escalator carrying people downward into a pile of bodies. In the video, shows the malfunctioning escalator is depositing passengers in a pile. The accident happened at the Repubblica station where the downward going escalator dramatically picked up speed with dozens of people on it.


In the viral video, people on the parallel escalator are seen trying to pull others to safety. The people injured in the accident were seen wrapped in blankets and some wore neck braces as they were taken away from the scene on stretchers by emergency crews. The cause was not immediately known.



The accident took place an hour before the kickoff of a Champions League match between Italy's Roma and Russian club CSKA Moscow. Several Russian fans were headed for the metro to reach the stadium. Rome's public transport is often criticised as running on obsolete equipment.

After the horrific accident, the metro station was closed in the immediate aftermath, with buses and cars diverted and emergency vehicles deployed outside.