Eleven people had to be rescued from an elevator that plummeted from the 21st floor to between the 4th and 5th floors in Shenzhen’s Baoan District on Tuesday night (August 6), Guangdong Satellite Television reports. The elevator is said to have been made by Weida Elevator Shenzhen Ltd., the same company as the one in which a nurse was decapitated by a malfunction in May.

Victims helping each other to safety, image courtesy of Southern Metropolis Daily

One of the victims, Mr. Li, told the Southern Metropolis Daily that he and some friends were going to visit a home on the 23rd floor of building A in Chujing Gardens. After a student got out on the 21st floor at around 10:20 p.m., the elevator suddenly plummeted before the door even closed. There were eleven people inside.

The people ended up being stuck for over an hour before rescue workers lifted the roof off the elevator, allowing them to climb to safety. All were taken to hospital with their injuries, including three with particularly severe pains in their waists.

Although all of the victims were kept in hospital overnight, most were found only to be suffering from shock.

Victims recovering in hospital, image courtesy of Southern Metropolis Daily

Wu Min of the building’s management centre said inspections would be done on all of the elevators in the complex to make sure nothing similar happens again.

Owner Miss Zhang said that in 10 years there had only been several minor accidents. She did acknowledge that she’s been concerned of late, as questions surface about the safety of elevators in Shenzhen.

Victim Mr Li said while in hospital that if anybody had been standing too close to the door of the elevator, they would have been a goner.