Compensation for escalator death

The incident highlighted the shabby infrastructure of Indian airports

India's Supreme Court has asked the country's airport authorities to compensate the family of a girl who was crushed to death in a faulty escalator.

Seven-year-old Jyotsna Jethani was killed when an escalator in Delhi international airport ripped open in December 1999.

Her parents will receive more than 1.5m rupees ($40,000), after judges upheld a lower court verdict.

The incident has highlighted the poor state of repair of India's airports.

"I am satisfied that justice has been done, although delayed," the girl's grandfather Parmanand Jethani told Hindustan Times newspaper.

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

Eyewitnesses said panic-stricken passengers jostled each other in a minor stampede.

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

The Jethanis had arrived in Delhi from Dubai.

The girl's parents have already rejected one offer of compensation.