Watch: Shoppers injured after escalator reverses direction and doubles speed

This is the shocking moment a group of shoppers were injured when an escalator they were suddenly doubled speed and travelled in the opposite direction.

At least 18 people were rushed to hospital after the incident inside the busy Langham Place shopping mall in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, on Saturday afternoon.

Footage shows people falling to the bottom of the escalator and piling on top off each other when the 45-metre long automatic stairway dramatically changed direction.

As those caught in the middle of the accident, some managed to stay upright as they desperately held onto the rail.

Two technicians have been arrested and released on bail in connection with the incident.

Otis Elevator Company (Hong Kong) employees – 52-year-old Yu and 22-year-old Cheung – were charged with obstructing justice and will appear in court in April.

They are accused of tampering with evidence connected to the escalator accident in Langham Place, Mong Kok, am730 reported, citing an Electrical and Mechanical Services Department preliminary investigation.

One eyewitness told the South China Morning Post: “I heard people screaming… the escalator was going down but the speed accelerated.

“People started to panic… and some fell down.”

The woman, identified only as Tina, added that the same escalator had stopped for several minutes earlier in the day.

Lau Kit-ying, who also witnessed the accident, added: “Most of the [injured] were young people and they stood up quickly afterwards…

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“I’m glad that there wasn’t any elderly at that time.”

A Langham Place spokeswoman said the escalator had passed a recent inspection and it was up to the safety standard.

She said contractor Otis Elevator Company (HK) Limited – the company responsible for maintaining all the elevators in the mall – had been asked to investigate the cause of accident.