Domestic helper stuck in elevator that ‘plunged’ down 6 floors hospitalised

A 38-year-old domestic helper has been hospitalised after the elevator she was in dropped down six floors yesterday afternoon.

At 5:20pm yesterday, the 38-year-old Filipina got into a lift at Yat Shing House in Mei Lam Estate with a 55-year-old Hong Kong woman surnamed Lee, reports Apple Daily.

Lee, who doesn’t know the domestic worker, said she was taking the lift to the 15th floor to see her mother, but it ascended to the sixth floor and suddenly stopped.

“The arrows [which indicate the elevator’s direction] switched, and the whole thing just plunged downwards,” she told Apple Daily.

Both women immediately fell to the floor, but stood back up and gripped onto the railings. When the elevator reached the ground floor, the 55-year-old said it “bounced around” a few times.

After pressing the emergency button, the pair was saved by firefighters, who had to pry the doors open.

While Lee was unharmed, her lift buddy wasn’t as lucky and twisted her ankle, requiring hospitalisation.

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department said there was nothing wrong with the elevator’s suspension ropes, and attributed the drop to a “signalling fault” which activated the safety mechanism, SCMP reports

 


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