ESCALATORS in Shanghai made by the company involved in a fatal accident in central China’s Jingzhou City have been taken out of service until checks guarantee their safety.

Xiang Liujuan, 30, died when she fell through a loose panel on an escalator in the Anliang department store on Sunday and was dragged into the machinery.

Shanghai safety officials have identified 90 escalators made by Suzhou Shenlong Elevator Co Ltd in use in the city’s Putuo, Xuhui, Baoshan, Minhang, Songjiang, Qingpu districts and the Pudong New Area. Nine companies were using them, 30 of which were the same model as the one in Jingzhou, the Shanghai Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau said yesterday.