“Exactly a scene from a horror film”: Absurd images of escalator in Gents Station are the world (Ghent)
« This is my worst nightmare. » « This looks like a scene from Final Destination. » « Why doesn't anyone press the emergency button? » A video on Tiktok van an escalator in Gent-Sint-Pieters provokes a lot of shocked reactions from all over the world.
Never experienced
It was posted last Friday evening around 6 pm, two hours after the twenty -year -old student Sam Tanghe had recorded it. At 4 pm he was waiting for the train from Ghent to Ostend, on his way home like every week. It can sometimes be busy on the platform, but as busy as then, the student had never experienced that.
© Sam Tanghe
Strike
« I think it was because of the strike, » he says. “The previous train that went from Ghent to Ostend had already passed at 1.20 pm. The amount of travelers for the 16.10 hour train had been seriously sustained as a result. «
The platform was full of such a way that whoever took the escalator up simply could not be added. With suitcases in their hand and backpacks around the shoulder, they kicked on the spot, pushing against the crowd, without much effect. The people who were at the top of the platform could not move themselves according to the student.
Tap
In the video, one man jumps over the railing. « That took a few minutes, » says the student. “Only then did someone push the stop button. It is a miracle that no accidents have happened. «
A friend advised Tanghe to place the video on Tiktok. Six hours later it had already been viewed a million times. On Tuesday morning the counter was already 52 million views. « I don't know when that platform will be renewed, but it's clear time, » Tanghe concludes with a wink.
Emergency stop
Bart Crols, spokesperson for the NMBS, says that there are two emergency stops on each escalator, one at the bottom and one at the top. “They are there for travelers to use. As soon as things go wrong, someone falls on the escalator or there is a congestion, travelers can press those buttons. ”
Crols adds that the NMBS itself also keeps an eye on things through cameras. This way we can intervene if necessary. But travelers can do that in real time, they are on the spot. It was very busy in the station on Friday because fewer trains were driving. «
