Gardaí in Cork have started an investigation following the death of an elderly man in a fall while on a shopping-centre escalator.
The man, in his mid-70s and from the Mayfield area, was fatally injured when he fell when with his wife in the Merchant's Quay shopping centre at 3.30pm.
The alarm was raised and the man was attended to by paramedics but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was removed to Cork University Hospital for postmortem.
Investigating officers are hoping the postmortem will establish whether the man died as a result of the fall or if a pre-existing medical condition contributed to his death.
Following the incident the centre was closed and gardaí began a technical examination of the escalator. They have also started interviewing shoppers who witnessed the fall.They are hoping that CCTV footage may also be able to assist them in establishing what exactly happened to the man who was using a stick at the time of the incident.
It is understood that the man’s wife was deeply traumatised and was treated for shock at the scene.
