WATCH: Woman Falls Through Floor of Shenzhen Metro Station

By Matthew Bossons, August 28, 2017

Heart-stopping video footage of a woman falling through the floor at the base of an escalator in Shenzhen began making the rounds online this weekend, prompting both praise and scorn from netizens.

The incident occurred on August 26 in Shenzhen’s Cuizhu Metro Station, Line 3, when a woman dropped through displaced floor tiles into the escalator’s lower equipment pit (sometimes referred to as the ‘well’).

In footage captured by a closed-circuit television camera, a man walking alongside the unlucky commuter reacted quickly, thrusting the upper half of his body into the hole to retrieve the woman. He was aided by a number of good Samaritans, and the woman was quickly pulled from the hole.

Watch the video of the accident below (VPN off):

Outside of China? Watch on YouTube.

Shenzhen Metro staffers rushed to the scene and accompanied the woman to a hospital to receive treatment for abrasions to her hand and legs, according to a Southern Metropolis Daily report. She was discharged after a short visit.

In response to the incident, Shenzhen Metro issued a statement of apology and noted that the escalator catchment cover has since been replaced. They also extended a thank you to the fast-reacting passengers who helped rescue the woman.

Netizens were quick to praise the commuters who came to the woman’s aid, while others pointed out such an accident should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. As one commenter on the Southern Metropolis Daily article wrote,