Heroes free boy from escalator
‘Two hours and 45 minutes of agony’
SHOPFITTERS have turned into heroes for helping rescue a 6-yearold boy whose foot was lodged between the steps of an allegedly malfunctioning escalator at Gateway shopping mall in uMhlanga.
Little Euan Hird, who arrived in Durban on July 4 with his parents and sister from the UK to celebrate his maternal grandmother’s 60th birthday in the city, was all smiles a week after his traumatic ordeal, when he got to meet his rescuers.
“Yes, I remember them,” Euan said confidently to his mother Nishala Hird, when she asked if he knew who the men were.
He then broke into a smile while she hugged the team at her family’s home in Mobeni Heights on Monday.
She sang their praises for the tenacity shown after Euan’s foot was lodged between the escalator steps, while he, his dad Will, 3-yearold sister Zara and relatives were heading for the main forecourt entrance to see the outside water display on Tuesday night last week.
“They are heroes and I can never thank them enough,” she said. “This was not even their field of expertise. They are shopfitters, but they got the job done when the centre’s own technician arrived illequipped.”
Relating what happened, Hird said: “We had a big family dinner at one of the restaurants then the men and the kids decided to venture off on their own to see the play area and the water feature.
“As they were travelling down the escalator, Euan, who was turned to the side to see the feature, was a step behind my cousin.
“From what I learnt, the step my relative was on unexpectedly lowered more than it should have, which made him stumble off, while THE management of Gateway Theatre of Shopping said they were awaiting the results of a thorough external and internal investigation into the accident.
In a statement to POST by spokeswoman Aileen Rodel, the mall said its management team had been on site during the course of the evening following the incident “and have continued to offer support to the family the step my son was on stayed in position. In the process, Euan’s right foot got lodged in the opening.”
The relative hit the emergency stop button.
Hird said she and other relatives who remained at the restaurant received a call that Euan had had an accident.
“I don’t know if my heart stopped or raced faster, but we all ran toward the escalator. There was a group of people and we had to push through to see my family.
“Euan was sitting on a woman’s lap and she was trying to comfort him, but when he saw me he started screaming even louder.”
Hird placed her son on her lap, while teams began to frantically work to free him. But his ordeal would last for an agonising two hours and 45 minutes.
“I began firing questions, wanting to know how this happened and where my daughter was.”
Futile
She said a mall technician arrived with no appropriate tools and his efforts were futile. “It seemed he was out of his depth to deal with the situation.”
Hird, who runs a fish and chips shop in Carnforth in the north west of England, said a firefighter tried to release a plate at the bottom of the escalator. “But this did not achieve much relief.”
Devan Govender, the owner of Acorn Shopfitters, and his team were closing a shop in the mall when a security guard arrived informing them of the incident. “We ran out with all our equipment and tried to help, but police prevented us from doing so,” he said.
Govender said a firefighter was using a drill machine to remove the plate at the bottom of the escalator. “But the material the bolt was made from (stainless during their son’s recovery.
“Gateway centre management urges parents to take note of the warning signs on escalators,” the statement reads, adding: “Children should be kept close to parents, in the middle of the step (away from yellow warning strips or warning brushes). steel), was through.”
Govender said his efforts to help were curbed until Hird’s cousin, Pranesha Naidoo, visiting from Abu Dhabi, kicked up a fuss.
“They (the shopfitters) seemed as if they knew what needed to be done, so I pleaded for him to be let through,” said Naidoo.
Govender said one of his employees, Lenny Govender, was eventually allowed into the pit with the firefighter.
“Lenny tried the same thing, using a drill to remove the bolt from the plate, which he was able to do.”
Govender was also allowed into the pit area and managed to remove bolts that were tight and concealed on the opposite side of the plate using a bolster (chisel) and a four-pound hammer.
Euan was rushed to Umhlanga Hospital where his condition was assessed. His right foot was crushed and he had multiple compound fractures, and the medical team looked at possible amputation of his lower foot as he had no circulation to his toes.
But he regained circulation in four of his toes and underwent surgery to re-set the bones in his foot.
On Friday he went for further surgery to close the wound and he was discharged on Saturday.
His dad, a UK resident and supermarket manager, and his sister returned home that day as scheduled with Euan’s maternal grandmother and his grandad.
Hird said her family had to raise R30 000 for the medical bills, adding Gateway was of little help.
She said its management lacked “sympathy, empathy and etiquette”.
The family was reimbursed the money when the Emirates travel insurance they took kicked in.
Hird and her son are expected to return home this week.
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“Children should be prevented from running their feet along the sides of the escalator, and should lift their feet carefully over the last step when dismounting.
“Security and duty managers are on call 24 hours a day to assist where required.”