An ascending escalator at Tokyo Big Sight, a major exhibition hall in Tokyo's Koto Ward, stopped abruptly Sunday, causing a number of people to topple over, with 10 being taken to hospital after sustaining injuries, firefighters and police said.

Of the 10, a 31-year-old man suffered a right cut to his right ankle, while the nine others sustained minor injuries. Investigators are looking into the maintenance of the escalator, they said.

The escalator was manufactured by Nippon Otis Elevator Co. and has been in operation since April 1996. Fourteen people sustained minor injuries in a similar accident involving an escalator made by the company in a Nagoya subway station in May.

Sunday's accident occurred around 10 a.m. when about 120 people escorted by security personnel got on the 16-meter-long escalator linking the first and fourth floors in the west hall of the building.

Most of the people were heading for the Wonder Festival 2008 Summer exhibition and sale of cartoon character figures, which had just opened.

When the first batch of people reached a point near the third floor, the escalator stopped suddenly and began descending, police said. A member of the building's staff pushed an emergency button and stopped the escalator.

"Suddenly, there was rattling sound and the escalator stopped and started descending, so I fled upstairs," said one witness who was on the escalator. "Some people further down appeared to have fallen."

Nippon Otis staff checked the escalator Tuesday as part of regular maintenance work and found no problems, according to the police.

After the accident in Nagoya in May, investigators concluded that a broken bolt was the likely cause.