Boy, 9, killed in escalator accident

A 9-year-old boy died in an escalator accident yesterday as it ascended in a shopping mall at Xidan, Xicheng district government confirmed to the Global Times yesterday.

The boy, who has not been identified, stretched his neck out over the handrail while taking the escalator from the fifth to the sixth floor in Xinyidai Shopping Center, and was struck by the concrete floor as the escalator continued to rise, according to a report from the 120 Beijing Emergency Medical Center.

"This accident happened around 12:30 pm today [Sunday]. Unfortunately, this boy was already deceased when we arrived," the director of the publicity department of the Beijing Emergency Medical Center, surnamed Li, told the Global Times yesterday.

According to Li, the boy's mother is a shop assistant at the shopping center, but she was too busy to take care of her son, which resulted in the tragic accident.

This accident raised security concerns from the public following a string of escalator-related accidents across the nation over the last year.

On July 5, a 13-year-old boy was killed and 29 others were injured when an escalator at Beijing Zoo Subway Station suddenly went into reverse.

However, in this latest case, a local authority spokesperson denied there was any malfunction of the escalator.

"What we know is that this boy took the escalator without any adult supervision, and the escalator was working normally at that time," the media officer for Xicheng district government, who asked for anonymity, told the Global Times yesterday.

The official noted that this case was still under investigation, but refused to reveal more details.

"We suggest that minors below 12 years old should be taken good care of by parents while taking the escalators or lifts," he said.

According to China Network Television (CNTV), a national web-based TV broadcaster, a fixed protection board and a warning panel are both in place at the corner where the escalator passes the underside of the floor.

A member of staff, named Xiaoran who works at a restaurant in the mall, said in an interview with the Global Times that if the boy looked back down the escalator as he was going up, it would be possible that he would not see the warning panel.

"I wasn't at the accident scene at that time, but I noticed the problem with the warning panel. The young boy might never have seen the warning," said Xiaoran.

Web users have questioned whether this escalator was equipped with an emergency stop button, which could stop the the escalator as soon as the accident happened.

"Maybe we should install one in the corner, to avoid such an accident," a Web user named "Fanhaiyueyueniao" posted on microblogging site Weibo.

Beijing police yesterday issued 10 rules for safely taking the escalator or elevator for both adults and children.

For example, people should never read books or mobile electronic readers on the escalator, never allow children to take the escalator alone, and never touch any protection boards at the sides of escalators.

"The shopping center should improve their management to avoid such potential dangers and parents should pay more attention to their children, never allowing them to stretch their hands or heads out of the confines of an escalator," said Li of the Emergency Medical Center.