Chennai: Showroom staffer dies in freak lift accident

Chennai: A 20-year-old employee of a silk showroom was killed in Gandhi Salali, Kancheepuram, on Tuesday morning after he got entangled in the mechanism operating the lift while he was standing on its roof.

The deceased was identified as Md. Zakir Hussain (20), resident of Mettu Street, Kancheepuram. The employee of Pachaiyappa's Silk was tasked to find out as to what was causing the stench from the roof of the passenger lift in the four-storey building.

 

At aroun

Md. Zakir Hussaind 10.40 am, Hussain climbed on the roof and was checking it while it was in the ground floor, while it was suddenly powered up. The lift got activated and began climbing to the III floor of the 4-storey building. He got entangled in the mechanism and died on the spot. His corpse fell into the lift. The employees alerted the cops besides moving the body out of the lift. Sivakanchi Police rushed to the spot.

It emerged that the 4th floor was under re-development, but the passenger lift works only upto the 3rd floor. The lapses on the part of the management were evident as no safety precautions were in place when the employee was tasked to check the lift. There is a specific instruction from the elevator firm that only authorised personnel should be allowed to operate the lift and also to service it.

“The manager, and the floor supervisor claimed innocence, stating that the deceased volunteered to check the roof of the lift after the visitors in the shop complained of foul smell emanating from the lift,”police said. The lift was serviced only last week by elevator firm technicians.

The body was moved to a GH in Kancheepuram for a post-mortem. Further investigations are on. The deceased was working with Pachaiyappa's Silk as a salesman who would also fix electrical faults as and when required. He had been with the showroom for about 4 years.