SHOCKED onlookers watched on as a man was swallowed by an escalator at a train station, when the moving stairs suddenly gave way.

The terrifying incident was captured on CCTV, which shows the man stepping onto the escalator only to have it collapse moments later.

Moments before, dozens of people can be seen walking down the escalator, which appears to be broken, during rush hour at Ayazaga Metro station in Istanbul, Turkey.

As the man, named by local media as Mehmet Ali Erik, steps onto the stairs, they suddenly disappear beneath him.

He can been seen hanging on to the moving railing before losing grip and vanishing into the gaping hole, before the metal stairs close over the top of him.

Mr Erik was reportedly trapped beneath the escalator for an hour before being rescued by firefighters. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality stated that a warning sign has been put up near the broken escalator, though it failed to stop people from using it.