SINGAPORE - An elderly woman was taken to hospital after she fell at an escalator in People's Park Complex Food Centre on Sunday (Sept 24).

A video submitted to citizen journalism site Stomp shows paramedics bandaging the woman's head.

The contributor, a shopkeeper there who gave his name only as Mr William, said the woman fell and hit the back of her head.

"She was bleeding badly," he said. "Several shopkeepers attended to her before paramedics arrived."

Mr William, 49, told The Straits Times on Monday that the blood stained her white hair red.

He added that the woman, who appeared to be at least 70 years old, fell while almost at the top of the upriding escalator, hitting the back of her head.

"She was still alert afterwards but she kept holding the back of her head," he said.

Mr William, who has been a shopkeeper at People's Park Complex for 25 years, said it was not the first time someone had fallen on the escalator.

He said it was installed about 10 years ago during upgrading. Since then, it has broken down many times, he said.

"Once it moves, it tends to be not steady and tends to jerk back," he said. "Once my mum also fell down."

Mr William claimed the escalator, which is still not working as of Monday evening, frequently breaks down.

He added that mechanics examined the escalator on Monday morning and found a dead rat wedged underneath one of the rails.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force told ST that it was alerted to the accident at about 1pm and dispatched an ambulance to the scene.

It took an elderly woman to Singapore General Hospital.