An escalator at a Beijing subway stop killed a 13-year-old boy and injured 13 people when it suddenly started to go backwards, Chinese media reported today.
The incident happened at 9.36am at the A exit of the Zoo Station on Line 4 subway, which opened to traffic two years ago.
Witnesses said the rising escalator suddenly changed its direction and caused more than 20 passengers to fall, Xinhua news agency reported.
On photos posted by witnesses on microblogs on weibo.com, several people are seen lying on the ground at the bottom of the escalator and being helped by others. Blood can be seen on the floor.
"People pressed into a pile, and the boy and his father were buried under others," said an injured witness, a father going to with his child to the zoo. His child was not hurt.
The dead boy's father is in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Peking University People's Hospital, doctors said.
The boy's sister suffered a head injury and has been transferred to Beijing Children's Hospital.
The injuries of the 13 were said not to be not life-threatening.
Ten escalators along the subway line were suspended after the accident, and double checks were under way, the subway operator said.
The escalator, which was made by the world’s largest escalator manufacturer Otis, was still in the guarantee period, and the manufacturer had just completed a routine check on June 22nd, a spokeswoman with the Beijing MTR Corporation, which operates the subway line confirmed.
The company posted a brief statement about the accident on its website,mtr.bj.cn, which provided the same explanation as the government's press release.
It said it has already launched an emergency response and that all injured people have been sent to hospitals.
It expressed sorrow to the family of the dead boy and apologised to those injured in the incident. It said it will guarantee medical treatment to the injured.
The government has demanded an inquiry into the accident and asked all subway operators to immediately launch checks of facilities to ensure their safety.