There has been a public outcry over escalator safety in China after a woman died in a horrific accident at a shopping mall yesterday in Hubei Province.
Thirty-year-old mother Xiang Liujuan just managed to push her child to safety after a panel gave way at the top of the escalator they had just ascended.
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Closed-circuit television footage from the mall in Jingzhou city shows a member of staff reaching out to grab Xiang as the escalator’s machinery pulls her down and out of site.
The municipal government of Jingzhou said the accident happened at about 10am local time on Sunday, 26 July.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, it took rescue crews four hours to recover Xiang’s body.
Xinhua reported that the accident was today the most searched-for topic on Sina Weibo, China’s social media equivalent to Twitter, prompting a flurry of questions about whether the escalator had been properly maintained and operated.
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