Two elderly women were hurled to the ground when an escalator in a busy metro station suddenly restarted while they were climbing it, triggering a city-wide safety investigation.

The incident happened in the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the Vasileostrovskaya metro station at around 8:30 am on 30th April.

Footage released by the St. Petersburg Prosecutor's Office shows the escalator was initially halted with passengers climbing up the steps manually, when it suddenly resumed motion.

The video captures the moment one elderly woman falls backwards and rolls down the steps, while another also tumbles, reportedly dropping her mobile phone as she fell.

According to multiple official reports, one of the women was treated at the scene but declined hospitalisation, while the second was taken to Mariinsky Hospital where doctors diagnosed her with a head abrasion and a hand injury.

Authorities said the loudspeaker at the station had warned passengers not to walk up the stationary escalator, but many were still on the stairs when the machine started moving again.

The St. Petersburg Metro Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation to assess the actions of officials responsible for the escalator's operation.

The probe will evaluate whether safety protocols were breached and whether proper warnings were given in time for passengers to react.

The metro's press service has claimed the passengers were at fault, citing carelessness and a failure to comply with safety rules.

It is not the first such incident in the Russian metro network, with another passenger recently injured in a fall at the Gostiny Dvor station.

(MJ Leidig/newsX)