Toddler crushed to death in escalator tragedy

Photo: Getty

A young boy was killed by an escalator in Chongqing, China. He was with his mother and sister at the Hongqihegou metro station when the tragedy occurred.

The unnamed boy appears to have been pulled down by the moving hand rail while riding up the escalator. He became trapped between the hand rail and the floor. The machinery was reportedly functioning normally when the incident occurred and immediately stopped after the boy became trapped. By the time emergency services arrived at the scene, the little boy was already dead.

Graphic photographs taken by horrified shoppers have since circulated around the Internet. The photographs are extremely disturbing and show the toddler lying with his legs in the air, still trapped between the hand rail and the moving staircase. To view the highly graphic images, click here.

The young boy's death adds to the recent series of terrible escalator accidents, especially in China, over the past few months. It is the second fatal escalator tragedy in China since June, when a mother stepped through an unfastened metal panel at the top of an escalator in a Chinese shopping mall.

Watch this video to learn about other escalator tragedies that occurred in China over the past few months:

More from AOL.com:
13-year-old girl dies from bacterial infection linked to tampons after doctors misdiagnose her
Little girl just wants parents to get along in adorable viral video
92-year-old man sings sweet love song to dying wife