BEIJING - A nine-year-old boy died instantly after he got stuck in an escalator at a Beijing department store as horrified shoppers looked on, Chinese state media said on Sunday.
The unaccompanied child stretched his neck out and became jammed between the moving escalator and the floor, the Xinhua news agency said, citing a publicity official from the capital’s Xicheng district.
An investigation had been launched into the tragedy, which happened at around midday at a department store in the Xidan shopping centre.
The incident occurred on a weekend when hundreds of millions of people began returning from the busy Lunar New Year holiday period in China – a time when people typically hit the shops.
The report did not give more details as to how the young boy got wedged in the escalator.
In July, a 13-year-old boy was killed and over 20 others injured when an escalator in a Beijing underground station suddenly reversed direction during the busy rush hour.
