The escalator crash at Koltsovo airport caused panic, after which one of the passengers shouted that shooting had started. Yekaterinburg resident Elena, who was at the airport with her husband at the time of the emergency, told socialbites.ca.
“My husband and I just arrived from Dubai. He went to get the car from the parking lot, and I stood with my things and waited for him before leaving the airport. Everything was calm, but at one point tourists, families with children – maybe ten people – ran away in different directions. Someone asked what was happening to the people running, and a girl shouted: “Run, they’re shooting there.” I didn’t have time to think about what to do, and I ran out into the street with the crowd. There was no crush at the exit, because apparently people created the main crush from where they were running. People were in a panic. It was clear that there was a lot of stress, because everyone was running in different directions. I ran to the parking lots where the arrivals were meeting, and there I called my husband and told him to come quickly, because it looked like there was shooting here,” Elena said.
He later learned from those who ran outside that panic had begun among passengers as they descended the escalator: Someone heard an explosion and shouted that shots were being fired.
“People said they ran from the second floor of the escalator. At first, from their words, it seemed to me that this happened in the security checkpoint in the departure area. I asked the family standing nearby if they heard the gunshots or what happened. They said that there was some kind of explosion on the escalator, someone fell and then someone shouted that they were shooting. I didn’t hear anything about a bomb anywhere, but some media already write about it. But my family told me that they were shooting, that someone was shouting there, and I heard it myself. It was already at the exit of the international terminal of the airport,” Elena explained.
He added that despite the emergency situation, the airport did not suspend operations and was receiving and sending flights as usual.
“Departures and arrivals were announced as usual, people were walking around the check-in area on domestic flights, there was no panic, no crowds. I also saw people standing and waiting in the arrivals area of international flights, completely calm. These observations occurred literally a minute after we were exhausted,” Elena concluded.
On the morning of August 6, some media outlets reported, citing eyewitness accounts, that explosions were heard in Koltsovo, followed by one of the passengers screaming about being shot, which caused panic. The airport press service did not confirm reports of the shooting.
“One of the passengers caused panic in the border control area, which requires a certain amount of time to pass, and caused people to get stuck and move uncontrollably in the passport and customs control areas. The airport’s statement said that two people fell and were injured and were immediately helped by airport health center staff.
The press service explained that this happened due to air carriers’ deviation from the schedule: the airport received several flights from foreign resorts almost simultaneously.
The police and the Ural Transportation Prosecutor’s Office began investigations.
Previously in Yekaterinburg landed A plane with a faulty engine.
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Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.