Elderly woman dead after lift malfunctions at Noida high-rise society

As per police, the deceased has been identified as 73-year-old Sushila Devi, a resident of Paras Tiera society.

An elderly woman died after a an elevator she was travelling in, in a high rise society in Noida's Sector 137, malfunctioned on Thursday evening, said officials.

Representative image.

As per police, the deceased has been identified as 73-year-old Sushila Devi, a resident of Paras Tiera society.

"Around 4 pm, the woman had taken the lift from the eighth floor in Tower 24 to go to the ground floor. She was alone in the lift. The lift malfunctioned and its wire snapped, leading to a free fall. It hit the ground after which housekeeping staff and other residents took the woman out of the lift and took her to a hospital," said Rajeev Dixit, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP), Central Noida.

According to Dr DK Gupta, chairman of Felix Hospital, the woman was brought dead to the hospital. "The woman had injuries on the back of her head and some abrasion on her elbows, which appears to have been caused due to the fall of the lift. There was no pulse and her eyelids were dilated when she was brought to the hospital, suggesting a possible cardiac arrest because of the suddenness of the event".

As per officials, the woman was living with her son and daughter-in-law in the society. The family of the deceased could not be reached immediately for a response.

Following the incident, residents of the society gathered in the common area demanding action against the those responsible for the incident.

"The lifts of the society have not been functioning properly for the last several months. Complaints have been submitted to the society representatives several times requesting them for the maintenance of the lifts, but no action was taken. The society was handed over from builder to the Apartment Owners' Association just three months back and since then, the society is not being maintained properly," said a resident of the society.

Col Ramesh Gautam, president of the society AOA, did not respond to calls and messages despite repeated attempts.

ADCP Dixit said, "The family of the deceased is yet to give a written complaint in the matter. Once a complaint is submitted, an FIR will be registered at the Sector 142 police station".

An official of the private company handling the maintenance of the lifts said, "We are investigating the matter and cannot confirm if the lift had a free fall due to a malfunction or any other reason".

The society has a total of 3,954 flats in a total of 32 towers which have 24 floors each, in which about 15,000 people reside.