Woman dies after scarf gets caught in escalator

A commuter has died after her scarf got snagged in an escalator at a Montreal Metro station and strangled her.

The unidentified 48-year-old woman was found dead at the bottom of the moving staircase at Fabre station in the north of the Canadian city.

Her hair was also apparently caught in the escalator in Thursday morning's incident.

Montreal police said they would work with the coroner's office to determine the circumstances of the fatality.

Police spokesman Jean-Pierre Brabant told reporters: "What we know now is that the woman's scarf was caught in the escalator.

"When she bent over to try to get the scarf out, her hair was also caught."