Several shoppers in New York City had an unpleasant surprise yesterday when an escalator malfunctioned, tripping up at least one person who fell and caused a chain reaction. Seven people were injured in the accident, officials say.

The Fire Department of New York says emergency personnel responded to the accident last night around 6 p.m. Witnesses tell CBS New York (warning: link contains autoplay video) that people were walking down a non-working escalator when it suddenly started to move.

When one person fell down, that action apparently took down several others on the escalator, fire officials told NBC New York.

“The escalator malfunctioned like if you had a roll of toilet paper and you yank it — that’s how the escalator yanked people, catapulting them right on top of each other,” one shopper told NBC. “Everybody ended up in a heap on the floor.”

Two people were taken to the hospital and listed in serious but stable condition, while five others were taken to the hospital with minor injuries like scratches and bruises. The escalator was shut down after the incident.

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