A woman in her 30s was getting on a travelator in a supermarket in Shanghai when a gap suddenly appeared, and the lower half of her body fell into it.

According to Chinese news outlet The Paper, the incident took place at around 4:30pm on Apr. 4, 2024.

What happened

According to footage that captured the incident, the woman was looking forward when she fell into the travelator gap.

@mothershipsg The woman has since spent three days in the Intensive Care Unit. #shanghai #accident #china #sgnews ♬ News, news, seriousness, tension(1077866) - Lyrebirds music

Nevertheless, the travelator continued to move upwards.

After the woman failed to get out of the gap, she screamed for help.

In response, a man in black rushed down the travelator and pressed the emergency stop button, effectively forcing the travelator to stop.

Women still in ICU

As the travelator's internal structure was described as "complicated", the firefighters had to deploy power tools, such as an electric saw, to rescue the woman.

It took the firefighters more than 30 minutes before they managed to extract the woman from the gap and rushed her to the hospital.

As of the Apr. 7 afternoon, three days after the incident took place, the woman was still being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), revealed her husband, surnamed Lu.

According to the hospital, the woman sustained multiple life-threatening injuries, including skin detachment and bone fractures in her legs.

While orthopaedic experts became involved in the woman's treatment, her doctor told Lu that it remained possible that she might have to undergo an amputation.

Family can only 'hope for the best'

Following the doctor's diagnosis, Lu said he could now only "hope for the best".

He also shared that he and his wife have a 10-year-old child, who is now taken care of by his mother-in-law.

"Our child had cried many times over the last few days, saying that they must share a bed with their mother," Lu added.

Supermarket paid for woman's medical fees

The supermarket has been paying for the woman's medical fees incurred over the last few days.

This has helped alleviate the burden of the woman's husband as he did not have to borrow money to foot the bills.

Lu estimated that the bills had amounted to more than 100,000 yuan (S$18,648) so far.

He also said that after his wife was sent to the hospital, employees of the supermarket stayed there until his wife was no longer in critical condition.

Investigation ongoing

Investigations into the incident by the Market Supervision and Regulation Bureau of Fengxian district, where the supermarket is located, are currently underway.

The supermarket has also closed down temporarily on Apr. 7 morning and has been "cooperating" with the investigations, reported The Paper.

Top images via @1024专员/Weibo