An infant in China has died after plunging three storeys from an escalator in Shanghai Qingpu Wyatt Plaza.
The accident happened when the grandmother of four-month-old baby boy lost her balance as she stepped on the escalator, reported Chinese news website xinmin.cn.
Footage from microblogging site Sina Weibo showed the elderly woman losing her grip on her grandchild as she tilted over the escalator’s handrails, struggling to regain her balance.
The baby, who was in his grandmother’s left arms, was thrown off the escalator in the ensuing chaos.
The toddler’s mother was walking behind with another child when she witnessed the incident. She immediately rushed down the escalator, but it was too late.
According to Taiwan news portal EBC, emergency responders pronounced the baby dead at the scene.
Before this latest accident, no safety breaches were reported on the escalator, the same report added.
Reactions online mostly empathised with the family, especially the grandmother. Some netizens also noted that the elderly tend to be weak, making it tricky when leaving infants in their care.
grongloh@sph.com.sg
Sina Weibo
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