It was a close shave for Vandana Mishra, into her 38th week of pregnancy, when she went for her routine check up at the Lakshmi Maternity Home in Malleswaram on Wednesday afternoon.
Having undergone the scan, the 32-year-old along and her husband, Shankaranada Mishra, took the lift to the first floor when the lift’s cable snapped, sending the couple and two other occupants plummeting down.
The Mishras got away with light injuries, but lift operator Puttaraju (48) and the fourth occupant, Jaya (50), a domestic help, were also injured. While the couple and Mr. Puttaraju were taken to North Manipal Hospital, Ms. Jaya was rushed to M.S. Ramaiah Hospital as she is suspected to have sustained a fracture.
This is the second time in recent months that this lift, housed in a temporary sheet structure, has given way, hospital sources said. Some six months ago, a senior citizen broke some bones when she used the same lift, which was under repair at the time.
‘Felt a sudden jerk’
Mr. Mishra told The Hindu he and his wife were going to the first floor in the lift when they felt a sudden jerk, following which the lift plummeted.
“We’re okay. [Vandana] is back at home and there seems to be no problem. However both of us experienced pain near our ankles after the accident.”
B. Leela Rao, the doctor who owns Lakshmi Maternity Home, said: “I was in the operation theatre when I heard a loud sound around 1 p.m. and came rushing out. My son (Mahesh Rao, also a doctor at the hospital), along with others helped rescue the four persons in the lift. They all have only minor injuries but we suspect that Jaya has been affected the most as she may have sustained a fracture above her ankle.”
The Malleswaram police are conducting an inquiry. They said that as no one was ready to lodge a complaint, they would take up a suo motu case of negligence.
This is the second reported incident of a pregnant woman being involved in a lift crash in the city.
In 2009, Vijayashree, in her final trimester of pregnancy, was injured at Wockhardt Hospital in an accident attributed to a technical snag.
