A PRELIMINARY investigation into the cause of an elevator accident in a residential compound in east China which killed a woman has shown that the accident was caused by the elevator’s brake failure, reported China’s state television, CCTV, citing an investigation group report on July 31.
“The elevator failed to stop and dragged the victim along with it as it went up. We preliminarily judged that the accident may have been caused by brake failure. As for the cause of the failure, we will still need to identify using technical measures before coming to a conclusion,” Chen Danjian, an official with supervision bureau of market of Hangzhou, told China’s Central Television.
Investigators found another elevator of the same make in the same living compound, which had the same problem as the elevator which caused the accident, while conducting an ongoing series of safety checks on elevators in the city.
“Another elevator located in Building 22 of Xinhuafang residential compound has an excessive gap in the band-type brake. It has been stopped now and we have ordered Hangzhou Tongda Elevator Engineering Co., the elevator maintenance company, to immediately examine its problems,” said Chen.
The incident happened about 10:30 am on July 30 when the victim, a 22-year-old woman, was going between the 17th and 16th floors.
Her body was dragged downwards while her head and chest were caught in the gap.
Local firefighters attended to the injured woman but she was announced dead afterwards. (Courtesy China Central Television)