Rome escalator accident leaves at least 20 injured at metro station

At least 20 people have been injured after an escalator carrying football fans at a Rome metro station malfunctioned and sped up.

Footage captured by a witness showed passengers, including Russians heading to a Champions League match between Roma and CSKA Moscow, being crushed at the bottom of the moving staircase.

One person was seriously injured in the incident, police said, as local newspaper Il Messaggero reported a Russian had had his foot severed.

Repubblica station, in the heart of the Italian capital, was closed and four ambulances were parked at one of the entrances, a witness said.

Local media reported many were injured in the stampede that ensued, as people running up stairs in a panic rushed into those descending into the metro station.

“There was a loud noise while everything went down,” one witness said ”There was no time to get to safety.”

The video, which was broadcast on state television, shows the packed escalator suddenly speed up, hurtling people towards the bottom. Passengers on the parallel escalator can be seen trying to pull others to safety, while some jump onto the steep central reservation separating the two stairs.

Some football fans were reportedly trapped between the metal plates of the steps.

Local media reports said the accident may have been caused by singing and chanting fans jumping up and down on it.

“The scene that we found was people piled up at the bottom of the escalator,” Rome provincial fire chief Giampietro Boscaino said. ‘’People one on the top of the other looking for help. They had various injuries caused by the escalator that was twisted, therefore serious injuries.”

Additional reporting by agencies