Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment two shoppers flee as a malfunctioning escalator collapses beneath their feet.

The incident was captured by a CCTV camera in the Sun Square shopping centre in the city of Wuzhou, which is in China’s southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In the footage, the two shoppers can be seen riding the escalator from the ground towards the first-floor women’s clothing section at 12:40pm local time on 15th June.

Pictures Credit: AsiaWire

However, the metal steps beneath their feet suddenly begin cracking and breaking apart, threatening to swallow them into the churning escalator.

The pair run up the stairs and later jump off just in time and avoid injuries, with a video of the aftermath showing a large section of the escalator steps broken and covered in debris.

Shoppers at Sun Square said that the escalator had “exploded”, and staff at the shopping complex later confirmed the faulty machine had experienced a “malfunction”.

The shopping centre said the device had been sealed off and maintenance work was now ongoing.

The incident did not affect the shopping centre’s operations or any customers’ shopping experience, a Sun Square statement read.

The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.