Gurugram woman stuck in lift as it free falls from 18th floor

Residents reported that the victim remained stuck inside the lift for nearly 20 minutes and was only able to exit after it was opened from outside with a key

A resident of a high-rise society in Sector 84 got stuck in the lift after it went into a free fall from the 20th to the first floor of tower AG on Friday afternoon, said the resident welfare association.

Gurugram town planner (enforcement) Manish Yadav said that he had not yet received a complaint but would investigate the incident (HT Photo)

They further reported that the resident, identified as Savita Sharma, was trapped in the lift for approximately 20 minutes after it stopped abruptly between the first and ground floors with a loud thud. Following the incident, Sharma, along with other residents and members of the Flat Buyers Association, filed a complaint at the Kherki Daula police station, demanding action.

Sharma recounted that the lift began its free fall from the 18th floor, seemingly due to a broken cable. “The lift felt like it was falling, and it sounded as if wires had snapped. There was a loud noise above the roof, and the lift jerked violently before stopping with a thud between the ground and first floors. I felt very uncomfortable and unsafe inside the lift,” she said in a video posted on X on Friday.

Flat buyers’ association president Yogesh Chauhan mentioned that many of the lifts in the condominium are faulty and such incidents occur frequently. “There are 13 towers in the society with 26 lifts, and they are not properly maintained, leading to frequent incidents. We have lodged a complaint with the police and are seeking action as this could have led to a serious accident,” Chauhan said. He added that two weeks earlier, a 12-year-old child was stuck in a lift for nearly half an hour in Tower AD.

Gurugram town planner (enforcement) Manish Yadav said that he had not yet received a complaint but would investigate the incident. “We will send a team to probe the incident, though it falls under the domain of the electrical inspectorate,” he said.

Inspector Mahinder, Station house officer of Kherki Daula police station, confirmed that they had received the complaint and were investigating the matter. “The lift went into a free fall, and we are investigating it,” he said.

When asked about the incident, Subash Vashisth, the estate manager of the condominium, stated that he was out of town and had no knowledge of the matter.