Horror has been expressed in the Indian media after an eight-year old girl was crushed to death in a faulty escalator at Delhi's international airport.

The victim, Jyotsna Jethani, was killed when an escalator in the arrival lounge ripped open after a passenger's bag got stuck in it.

India's Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav has ordered an investigation into the accident and directed a two-member inquiry committee to present its findings within 24 hours.

Indian newspapers reported that the minister offered compensation to the girl's parents who rejected the offer.

"We will give you fifty times that money but can you give us our child back?" The Hindustan Times quoted family members as saying.

No help

The Jethanis arrived in Delhi early on Monday morning from Dubai on a scheduled Air India flight.

Eyewitnesses said panic-stricken passengers jostled each other in a minor stampede when the bag got stuck in the escalator.

In the confusion, Jyotsna fell into a gaping hole at the base of the moving stairs.

"She was flailing her legs and screaming, but I could do nothing," her mother, Geeta Jethani, was quoted as saying.

"There was no one to help us. No one to stop the escalator and pull her out," she said.

Reports said no official came forward to help and for almost an hour after the accident, no first-aid was administered to three other passengers who were injured.

Outrage

The accident has shocked people in India's capital and questions are being raised about safety and maintenance of public buildings.

"That such an incident should have taken place at the international airport in the capital only serves to put a question mark on the safety and maintenance standards being adhered to," The Hindustan Times said.

The Times of India quoted a Delhi resident as saying: "If escalators can kill in the capital of the country and that too at the airport, which is a gateway to India, things are quite bad."