Eight people, including six women, were rescued after they got stuck in an elevator at the Collector Office’s here on Saturday.
According to sources, the incident occurred in the ground floor after the elevator brought them down from the second floor. The doors of the elevator had failed to open upon reaching the ground floor. Most of those inside were beneficiaries who had come to participate in a meeting attended by the Electricity Minister V. Senthil Balaji, and Labour Welfare Minister C.V. Ganesan.
The panicked passengers raised an alarm. As information spread, the enthusiastic onlookers made attempts to force open the elevator with some rods. But they could not succeed, thereby causing tension among those trapped in the elevators and the onlookers.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel broke open the elevator and rescued all of them. One woman who complained of giddiness was given first aid.
Collector T. Prabhu Shankar, who oversaw the rescue work, told The Hindu the number of passengers inside the elevator was more than the permitted limit. Due to the heavy load, the elevator had gone down by a few inches than the level of the ground floor.
The elevator was under an annual maintenance contract and it had been properly maintained. The last maintenance was done on August 13. Steps would be taken to post a lift attendant to operate it. The rescued were fine, he said.
