Beijing has started an investigation into an escalator accident that killed a 9-year-old boy at a downtown department store on January 29, 2011.

The Xinyidai department store. [File photo]

According to Beijing security bureau, a boy was stuck in an escalator at Xinyidai Department Store in Xidan, the busiest commercial area in Beijing, at around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Witnesses said the boy poked his head beyond the railing, got stuck between the ascending escalator and the wall, and died instantly.

The boy's mother was a vendor at the store and was too busy to keep an eye on him, said Hong Liang, a store manager.

The store has 30 escalators and 10 elevators, Hong said. "All of them receive routine maintenance and are operating normally."

The store was still open after the accident, though the killer escalator was cordoned off.

Besides the security bureau, the local quality watchdog also joined the investigation.

In July last year, a 13-year-old boy died and 30 others were injured when an ascending escalator at the Beijing Zoo Station on Subway Line 4 suddenly reversed.

The accident triggered a nationwide safety-check campaign on escalators and elevators.

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