Chinese woman trapped for a month in an elevator starves to death

Los Angeles Times 19 hours ago 

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Elevator maintenance men returning to work after a month-long break for Chinese New Year made a horrific discovery last week when they opened the cab of a broken lift and found the body of a woman who had been trapped inside since late January and starved to death. The gruesome incident in the western city of Xi’an, renowned as the home of China’s Terra Cotta Warriors, has sparked outrage over the apparent negligence of the elevator repair company and the building’s management office. The property managers told the Beijing Youth Daily that the elevator cab was returned to the first floor and taken out of service after workers had “confirmed” that no one was inside. Authorities said the case involved “gross negligence” on the part of the elevator maintenance company and at least one “responsible person” has been detained in connection with the investigation, according to the magazine. ...

Chinese woman found dead after month trapped in elevator

AFP 14 hours ago 

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Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese woman died after being trapped in an elevator for a month because maintenance workers shut off the power supply after failing to properly check if anyone was inside, state media reported Sunday.

Workers came to repair a malfunctioning elevator in the northern city of Xi'an on January 30, Beijing Youth Daily cited local authorities as saying.

The crew found the elevator stuck between the 10th and 11th floors, shouted to ask if anyone was there, and cut the power, it said.

The workers left for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday and did not return until March 1.

The government said the investigation found the death was due to a grave error by the maintenance company for not opening the car before cutting the power, and not verifying after the power was off whether there was anyone inside.

The deceased woman, 43, reportedly lived alone in building.

China is prone to safety accidents as regulations and standards are often flouted and enforcement is lax, sometimes due to corruption.

Police investigating the incident found no evidence of trauma and have ruled out homicide, Beijing Youth Daily said.

Last July, a woman was killed after she plunged through flooring over an escalator in a Chinese department store.

Security camera footage of the incident posted online showed a panel in the floor giving way as the woman stepped off the escalator. As she fell half-way through she pushed her son forward, and a nearby shop assistant dragged him to safety.