Tag Archives: fatality

Bangalore, India – LPG delivery man fatally crushed by descending elevator

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A 44-year old Indian man delivering liquid propane gas died Tuesday, November 5, 2013, around 12:30 p.m. local time, when he was fatally crushed by an elevator in an apartment building in Devara Jeevana Halli, Bangalore, India. According to early reports, the man had completed his delivery on the ground floor, and was on his way to the building’s first floor to collect payment. When he registered a hall call, the elevator doors apparently opened without the cab present. The victim apparently stepped through the opening, falling into the pit, where he was then crushed when the elevator descended seconds later to answer his hall call. Witnesses stated that they observed a significant amount of blood and were only able to see the victim’s hands, and used crowbars in an attempt to lift the cab off the victim. Local police are investigating the circumstances of the accident and had not yet released a formal statement, but noted that it appeared to be a malfunction and not foul play. The official statement also noted that they would investigate whether the elevator manufacturer, Lenzi Elevators India, was criminally negligent.

Typically, modern passenger elevators in the United States use a combination of an elevator car door and hoistway doors at each floor. A door operator mounted on top of the elevator car then opens the hoistway doors when the cab arrives. In such an arrangement, the hoistway doors will remain closed until the cab is lined up with that floor, allowing the door operator to open the hoistway door, which should never open to an empty shaft. However, even in the United States, there are often freight elevator door arrangements in which each floor has an independent door operator. In that case, a malfunction could potentially lead to an open shaft. In this case, it is not clear what the circumstances were. However, in India, “swing door” arrangements that resemble a typical building door are still relatively common, so it is also possible that this case involved a swing door with an independent hoistway door operator. We will update this story if additional information becomes available.

Sources reporting this story include:

Sharjah, UAE – Elevator mechanic dies after cab unexectedly plunges

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Shajo Sh. S., a 33-year-old Indian elevator mechanic working on an elevator in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, died around 1 p.m. local time Saturday, November 2, 2013, after an elevator cab he was working on fell unexpectedly. The victim was apparently performing routine maintenance on an elevator in a residential building in the Al Butaina neighborhood, cleaning the inside of the hoistway doors at each floor. When the elevator cab was around the third floor, it suddenly fell, causing the victim to become pinned between the hoistway wall and the cab.

Early reports indicate that authorities were not notified for at least 40 minutes after the accident occurred. During that time, the victim’s co-workers were apparently attempting to extricate him. By the time authorities arrived, the victim was already deceased. Sharjah Police released a statement urging the immediate reporting of industrial accidents to allow officials to carry out rescue and recovery operations and hopefully prevent future loss of life in similar situations.

This incident marks the third recorded elevator-related fatality this week. Earlier this week, a maintenance worker at a hospital in Decatur, Alabama, was fatally crushed when attempting to repair a freight elevator, and an elevator mechanic in Dallas, Texas, suffered a fatal fall down an open hoistway.

Sources reporting this story include:

Dallas, TX – Elevator technician dies after fatal fall into open hoistway

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A 45-year-old elevator mechanic from Mesquite, Texas, died after falling approximately 20-feet into an open hoistway at the parking garage of 1515 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas, around 8 p.m. Friday, November 1, 2013. The elevator technician, whose name was not yet released by authorities, was apparently servicing equipment in a mechanical room adjacent to the open shaft when he fell. The Dallas Fire Department urban search and rescue team was dispatched to recover the victim, who was declared dead on arrival by the responding paramedics. A spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department said they did not know what caused him to fall, but indicated that it appeared to be an accident, and that Dallas homicide detectives and OSHA were investigating.

Decatur, AL – Hospital maintenance worker fatally crushed by freight elevator

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Michael “Dewayne” Atkins, 41, of Russelville, Alabama, died in an elevator accident that occurred Wednesday, October 30, 2013, around 6:45p.m. at Decatur Morgan Hospital, in Decatur, Alabama. Atkins was a maintenance worker at the hospital and was apparently attempting to repair a freight elevator at the loading dock on the Decatur General campus when the elevator moved down unexpectedly, pinning him between the floor and the bottom of the elevator, fatally crushing him. Early reports did not indicate any factors that might have contributed to the accident. The Alabama Department of Forensic Science will perform an autopsy, and officials with the Alabama Department of Labor are investigating.

Two-way radio communications obtained by ElevatorAccident.net indicated that first responders waited nearly two hours for elevator personnel to arrive to move the cab and extricate the victim, however the coroner had already pronounced the victim dead upon arrival. An official with the Alabama Department of Labor Inspections Division did not provide a comment regarding the circumstances of the incident, but confirmed that a license issued by the Department of Labor is required for personnel that repair or maintain elevators.

It was not clear from any early reports exactly what Mr. Atkins was repairing or why he would have been repairing the elevator in the first place. There was no indication at the time of writing that Mr. Atkins possessed an elevator-related license or had otherwise received training that would qualify him as “elevator personnel” in accordance with the ASME A17.1, “Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators.” An initial investigation by the Alabama Department of Labor indicated that the hoistway door interlock at the level the incident occurred may have been bypassed.

Elevator fatalities involving passengers are exceptionally rare, however, since the victim in this case was apparently attempting to affect a repair on the elevator, he had apparently entered the elevator hoistway, where he was subjected to hazards to which the riding public would normally not be exposed.

Sources reporting this story include:

Shanghai, China – Woman killed by runaway shopping cart on inclined moving walkway

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A 60-year old grandmother died Friday, June 21, 2013, after a runaway shopping cart struck her at high speed while she was riding an inclined moving walkway at the Lianhua supermarket in the Jiading district of Shanghai, China. Surveillance video of the incident depicts the victim calmly disembarking the moving walk and turning around in the split second before the runaway shopping cart struck her fatally, suggesting that the victim heard the cart careening out of control, even though it was too late for her to get out of the cart’s path. According to the report by STOMP, a Singapore news agency, the runaway cart belonged to two men who had loaded it with 15 crates of drinks, estimated to have weighed 330 pounds (150kg), who boarded the moving walkway moments before losing control of the cart. The victim was reportedly thrown almost 20 feet (6 meters) from the point of impact. She was transported to a nearby hospital but succumbed to her injuries. Local police are investigating the incident.

While somewhat uncommon in the United States, inclined moving walkways are often used in airports and supermarkets to transport people between floors with the capacity of an escalator and the convenience of an elevator (namely, that people can take along their suitcase, shopping cart, or baby carriage). Typically, the carts at locations with inclined moving walks will remain under control using an automatic brake that is applied when the cart handle is released, or via strong magnets in the cart wheels that stay adhered to the ramp surface. However in this case, the recklessness of the two patrons to use their own cart, which they also overloaded, apparently led to this woman’s untimely death.

Also of note is that the surveillance video depicts that the moving walks in this incident were continuously sloped. In the United States, moving walkway treadways are limited to inclines of 12 degrees at any point, and 3 degrees within 3 feet of the landing. Had the slope tapered at the bottom landing, it might have provided the victim an additional split second to avoid the careening cart. However, clearly in this case the reckless loading of an unsafe cart appears to be the prevailing causative factor.

Sources reporting this story include:

San Francisco, CA – Man fatally crushed in BART elevator shaft

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According to the Huffington Post, a man was crushed by an elevator in San Francisco’s BART subway station on Monday, March 11, 2013. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain somewhat unclear, but the report indicates that a passenger boarded the elevator and registered a cab call in the up direction before hearing “a crunching sound and a man yelp.” The elevator then stopped with that passenger entrapped. The entrapped passenger called for help, and after being successfully rescued, authorities searched the hoistway and found the victim, who was immediately pronounced dead.

Strangely, BART Police Lieutenant John Conneely indicated that “the man may have been sleeping atop the elevator” but that it was unclear how he entered the hoistway or how long he had been inside. Conneely also indicated that personal belongings were found on the car top, but it was not certain that they belonged to the victim. Read the full story published March 11, 2013.

It is unclear if the elevator had a manually operable “run/stop” switch, however, it is unlikely that it would have made a difference in this case, since the only indication that an accident had occurred was when the entrapped passenger heard the victim being crushed.

This highly unusual incident demonstrates that an elevator hoistway is perhaps the most dangerous place a person can be. No one should ever enter the hoistway besides elevator personnel and emergency personnel that have been trained to safely access these spaces. Also in this case, the entrapped passenger responded correctly by waiting for help.

Mumbai, India – 18 year-old girl crushed to death under elevator while sweeping pit

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According to Indian news agency DNA (Daily News & Analysis, an 18 year-old girl was crushed to death Wednesday, January 9, 2013, after she entered the hoistway, apparently to sweep the pit. The report is somewhat unusual in that it specifically describes that the motor of the “old lift” somehow crashed down on top of her, fatally crushing her. The victim died at the scene. An employee at the building who was not named described the building as “dilapidated”. A comment on that article also notes that there may have been other similar incidents at that location. Read the full story, published January 10, 2013.

Incidents like this highlight why it is important that access to elevator pits, hoistways, and machine spaces is restricted to elevator personnel only. It is not yet clear how the victim was able to access the pit, however, the original news report indicates that it was apparently part of her “sweeping duty” to sweep the pit. In the United States, building maintenance and housekeeping staff are generally prohibited by code from entering these restricted spaces. Cleaning of the pit should be part of the maintenance control program followed by the elevator contractor during periodic preventive maintenance visits.

Chester, PA – Elevator mechanic struck, killed by falling dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia

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According to ABC 6 Action News, an elevator mechanic working on a dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed when the dumbwaiter unexpectedly fell on top of him. The accident occurred around 4 p.m., Saturday, December 29, 2012. Police confirmed that they recovered the man’s body from the dumbwaiter shaft, but did not release the victim’s identity. Read the full story by ABC 6 Action News, published December 30, 2012, and watch the video below.

Details regarding the circumstances of the accident were limited. The Philadelphia Inquirer later reported on December 31, 2012, that the 52 year-old victim from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was a sub-contractor, not a casino employee. The incident dumbwaiter was used to deliver food to restaurants within the casino. They also noted that Chester officials and OSHA were still investigating the incident.

Generally, dumbwaiters are required to have safety systems that are comparable to the safety devices required on passenger elevators.

Sabhan, Kuwait – Elevator mechanic killed, another injured; crushed by falling car

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According to the Kuwait Times, an elevator accident left one elevator mechanic dead and another seriously injured in the Sabhan neighborhood of Kuwait. Although details of the circumstances are scant, it appears that both mechanics were working in the hoistway pit of an interior ministry building at the time the accident occurred. The elevator unexpectedly descended, crushing the two men, killing one instantly. Read the full story by the Kuwait Times, published December 27, 2012.

In the United States, elevators have long been required to have stop switches in the pit to prevent unexpected movement of the car when working in the pit. It is standard procedure to ensure that the elevator is under control before entering the pit or accessing the car top. Crushing accidents involving the pit often involve improperly trained personnel accessing the pit, for example to retrieve dropped keys. However it is critical that only properly trained elevator personnel enter the pit, to prevent this type of incident. It is not clear whether or not the elevator in this incident was equipped with a stop switch in the pit, or whether the mechanics had followed procedures to gain control of the elevator before entering the pit. We will update this story if more details emerge.

Korrukkupet, Chennai, India – Man dies, two seriously injured after elevator crashes at wedding hall

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According to the Times of India, a 55-year-old man died and two people were seriously injured when an elevator cable snapped in a marriage hall in Korrukkupet on Sunday afternoon. According to the report, the elevator plunged from the third floor to the ground floor after the cables gave way. It was unclear at the time of the report whether overspeed governors or other types of safety devices are required by any applicable elevator codes in India, however, according to the article, the elevator was only six months old.

Read the full story by the Times of India, published December 3, 2012.

A follow-up article by the New Indian Express, published December 7, 2012, revealed much greater detail regarding the circumstances of the accident.

According to that article, the victims were riding the elevator when it stopped suddenly and entrapped the victims. The victims signaled for help, and in an effort to free the entrapped passengers from the elevator, untrained employees of the wedding hall apparently went into the motor room and released the elevator’s brakes, sending the elevator into a free fall. Normally, the counterweight will cause the counterweight, not the elevator cab, to free fall, however, it is possible that with the weight of four or more passengers that the counterweight’s balance might be exceeded, causing the elevator to fall downwards when the brakes were released. Interestingly, the article notes that if the employees had “phased” (or stuttered) their release of the brake, the elevator would not have fallen and the victims would not have been injured.

The New Indian Express article also includes a quote from an official that investigated the accident that described the situation:

“In their anxiety to quickly bring the occupants of the lift out, men who were not properly trained or authorised to handle the system released the lever without realising that it could lead to a free fall.”