Following the southern Sweden derby between Helsingborg IF and Malmö FF, the two sets of fans were all set to clash at a train station until an escalator mysteriously sped up and separated them.
The two sets of supporters headed to Helsingborg train station after the 3-0 Malmö victory last Wednesday. Despite a large police presence at the station, tensions were high and clashes seemed likely until an escalator sped up and separated the supporters, who were sent flying.
The initial assumption by angry fans was that a staff member had increased the speed, but Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) spokeswoman Linda Carlen later said the actual reason was that the increased weight meant the escalator was overloaded, which led to break failure and the increase in speed.
Carlen denied a member of staff had been involved, explaining that the only thing operators are able to do in such an event is to return the escalator to normal speed after the emergency stop button has been pressed. She added that nobody was injured in the train station accident.
Following the incident, Carlen said Trafikverket has opted to stop escalators running in train stations when big, potentially fiery, matches are taking place. Helsingborg IF and Malmö FF have an intense rivalry, and there is often fighting on days when the two teams clash.