A woman has undergone multiple surgeries and may need an amputation after she fell through a malfunctioning supermarket travelator in Shanghai
Firefighters had to be called in to rescue the woman after her lower body plunged through the travelator - also known as a "moving walkway" - which had a floor plate missing, last Thursday, the BBC reports.
She was stuck for 30 minutes until firefighters pulled her free.
Her husband told local media she was left with serious injuries and was being treated in intensive care.
She had two operations, a skin graft and also may need amputation.
The deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Supervision (SMAMS), Su Dongjun, said an investigation was underway, the CCTV media outlet reports.
He said initial findings showed the incident was caused by a pedal falling off, leading to the failure of the travelator's automatic stop system.
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The Shanghai government said it had recently carried out month-long safety checks on thousands of the city's travelators and moving walkways.
It had found more than 100 safety problems.
Falls through travelators or escalators can cause serious injuries and even death.
In 2015, a woman in China died after plunging through an escalator at a shopping mall just after saving her son's life.
