11 kids, 1 adult hurt in "Wicked" escalator accident in NYC

Eleven children and one adult were hurt in an escalator accident at the Gershwin Theatre on Wednesday evening.

It happened at 5:12 p.m. inside the theater on West 51st Street, where "Wicked" is performed in New York City's Theater District. 

Police said the electrical escalator malfunctioned, suddenly jolted, and threw people on it forward. Police sources said it happened after a child's shoelace got stuck.

All of the injured were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries.

Witnesses said some of the children were very young, and that some were put on stretchers and others in wheelchairs before being taken to waiting ambulances.

One woman described the aftermath.

"The escalator was shut down and it was odd, people were going around it and walking up the stairs, but I didn't think anything of it," Julia Wicke said. "It is really scary to hear about. I've always been scared of escalators and I feel bad for the people who had to miss the show because of it."

Theatergoers resumed lining up for the 7 p.m. show a short time later.

The Department of Buildings is investigating.