BEIJING - China's top quality watchdog has ordered all escalators that are similar to the one involved in a tragedy in the capital this week that took the life of a 13-year-old boy to be put out of use and overhauled.

The organization made the move after an escalator at a subway station reversed direction on Tuesday, causing people to fall.

"Preliminary investigation concluded that the OTIS model has a design defect and was not maintained well during the last regular check," said Zhang Juming, a spokesman from the Beijing bureau of quality and technical supervision, during a news conference.