A sudden collapse of ceiling tiles at a subway station in Shanghai created panic for passing passengers last Friday afternoon.
Surveillance footage showed that at around 14:00 on July 29, a large area of ceiling tiles in a passageway of the Siping Road Station suddenly started to fall. Three horrified passengers who were just walking through the zone were seen running from the scene in panic, as tiles continued to rain down for several seconds.
No one was injured in the accident, according to the local subway administration.
"We coordinated with the police immediately, cordoning off the area and closing the station. Our staff guided the passengers in and out from other channels, then we double-checked the accident site to make sure no one had been injured,” said Zhu Yao, manager of the Siping Road Station.
Recent weather conditions have been attributed as being the main cause of the accident.
"After examinations we found part of the grid work was corroded due to dense humidity, so the grid work was unable to sustain the ceiling tiles. A sudden change of wind pressure also contributed to the accident,” said Ma Zhongzheng, a senior engineer working on Shanghai Subway Line 10.
