Update | Escalator maker and shopping mall to blame for woman's death, Chinese authorities find
Better safety training for staff could have helped avert tragedy, but the floorplates were shoddy and poorly designed, investigation finds
Responsibility for the death of a Chinese woman on an escalator over the weekend lay with the manufacturer and the shopping mall where it was operating, an official investigation has found.
Xiang Liujuan, 30, was carrying her two-year-old son when she stepped off the escalator at the AZG Mall in Jingzhou in Hubei province on Sunday.
She fell through the floorplates and was killed by the machinery underneath but managed to push her son to safety just in time.
Investigators found the three plates were poorly designed, allowing them to work their way loose and tilt easily. They also found the size of the plates did not match the original designs and were loosely fitted.
The manufacturer, Suzhou Shenlong Elevator Company, was accused of poor quality control, and officials have ordered all its machines operating across the province to stop service and safety checks to be carried out. The investigation also found the mall did not take proper emergency measures after its staff discovered the escalator was faulty.
Newly released video footage showed two members of staff at the shopping mall almost fell through a gap in the plates minutes before Xiang was trapped.