An escalator malfunction at Sunae Station on the Bundang Line of the subway system south of Seoul left more than a dozen commuters injured on Thursday.

According to the anti-disaster authorities in Gyeonggi Province, an escalator going upward from the platform in the station in Seongnam stopped before it began to move in the opposite direction several seconds later at around 8:20 a.m.

Three people on the elevator in question suffered injuries to their backs and legs and have been transported to the hospital for treatment, while eleven others sustained milder injuries and have reportedly returned home.

The police are currently ruling out the possibility that the incident was caused deliberately, with an inspection to be conducted to determine the exact cause.