Man sucked into escalator in front of horrified shoppers

The technician is understood to be receiving treatment in the trauma centre of a local hospital

The workman was accidently sucked into the escalator after it 'suddenly became operational' (YouTube)

A man has suffered serious injuries after falling into a moving escalator.

The workman, who was repairing the device in Beibei District of Chongqing in south-west China, was accidently sucked into the escalator after it “suddenly became operational”.

Video footage of the incident shows the man’s body under the outdoor contraption, which was quickly halted to prevent him being crushed.

Local firefighters were called to the scene and managed to set the man free (YouTube)

Local firefighters were called to the scene and managed to set the man free as hundreds of horrified shoppers looked on, the MailOnline reports.

The technician, who has not been named in reports, is understood to be receiving treatment in the trauma centre of a local hospital. His condition is unknown.

Investigators are reportedly determining the cause of the accident.

The incident follows a slew of accidents involving escalators in the country, which have prompted nationwide safety concerns.

Last year, a 31-year-old mother, Xiang Liujuan, died after she fell into the machinery of an escalator while in her local shopping centre in Jingzhou when a panal at the top of escalator became loose.

Investigators are reportedly determining the cause of the accident (YouTube)

The incident was caught on camera, which showed her pushing her child to safety as she was dragged to her death igniting outrage around the world.

Two months later a four-year-old boy was also killed by an escalator after his hand became stuck in its handrail.

Although deaths on escalators are extremely rare, China's breakneck economic development and sometimes cavalier attitude toward safety, quality control and maintenance have led to frequent industrial accidents.

An estimated 37 people were killed in China in escalator accidents in 2014, according to the South China Morning Post. The country has almost 3.6 million registered escalators in total.