Train station horror ... A young boy died after being crushed by an escalator in China. Picture: CEN/Australscope

A BOY has lost his life in a horrifying escalator accident after he was crushed between the ground and the handrail.

The unnamed child was with his mother and sister at the Hongqihegou Metro Station in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality when the incident occurred.

While there have been few details regarding the incident, pictures show the boy wedged in a small gap between the handrail and the ground.

The incident has not been attributed to mechanical malfunction.

Tragedy ... The boy was pinned to the ground and crushed by the moving hand rail. Picture: CEN/AustralscopeSource:australscope

The machinery was reportedly immediately stopped after the boy was injured, and he was pronounced dead when emergency services arrived.

This is the second major escalator incident leading to death in China since June, when a mother stepped through an unfastened metal panel at the top of an escalator and was “swallowed” by the mechanism inside.

A handful of incidents involving both children and adults have been reported in the past four months, including ones where hands, arms, or legs were caught between moving escalator stairs.