A nine-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after falling approximately six metres (20 feet) from an escalator in a Scarborough shopping mall Tuesday afternoon.

Police said the incident happened around 4:20 p.m. when the boy, who was accompanied by his mother, fell from the top of an escalator and landed on his head at Scarborough Town Centre.

The child was taken to SickKids hospital by ambulance.

Police said the boy was unconscious, but breathing, when the ambulance arrived.

A witness at the mall said the incident happened near the Wal-Mart.

The boy grabbed on to the escalator railing, which pulled him up until was dangling alongside the stairs, the witness said.

The boy eventually let go and fell to the floor below.

The witness said a woman, who appeared to be the child's mother, was sitting on a sofa near the incident before the boy fell.