Faulty lift led to death of 4-year-old in school elevator in Hyderabad

The lift doors opened halfway while it was still moving

Hyderabad

: A four-year-old girl was crushed to death in her school’s elevator in front of her classmates in Dilsukhnagar on Tuesday morning. The victim, Syeda Xainab Fatima Jaffery, a Nursery student at Sri Chaitanya School, fell down as the doors of the lift opened while it was still in motion and got stuck between the lift and the floor.

The accident took place minutes before classes were about to start. “A school staff was taking the victim and eight other kids from the ground floor to the first and second floors. Moments before the lift reached the top floor, the lift doors opened halfway while it was still moving, and the child fell down. Her head got stuck between the doors and the floor and got crushed,” said East Zone DCP A. Ravinder.

The school staff also said that power had gone off for a few moments while the lift was moving from the ground to the first floor. “The inside door of the lift was not working properly. So the lift moves even if it is not closed properly. The school staff, who was in the lift, could not do anything at all,” said Malakpet ACP Ch. Sudhakar.

A parent, Mr Mustafa Sheik, who was at the school when the incident took place, heard the screams and he rushed in. “I heard the other kids screaming from inside the lift. As I rushed in, I saw the kid’s head was stuck between the lift door and the floor,” said Mr Sheik, who alerted the police.

Lift technicians and fire officials arrived and started rescue operations. “We switched off the elevator and moved it up to retrieved the body. The child was already dead,” said Mr D. Tirupati, a fire official from the Malakpet fire station.

Following the incident, tension mounted on the school premises as parents agitated against the management for their negligence. Police controlled the mob before they got violent, and assured action against those responsible.

The police has now booked a case against the Sri Chaitanya school management for causing death due to negligence under IPC section 304A. Cops have also arrested the staff, Saroja, and the school principal, Shalini.

Builders used old elevators

Many builders purchase second hand lifts starting from Rs 40,000 or assembled ones, compromising on quality, despite Development Control Regulation (DCR) rules. It is also mandatory to conduct regular servicing once a month. But many don’t follow this and instead do it quarterly. The builder is responsible for lift-related accidents, when the quality of wires and the support system is comprised.

Not all buildings have a lift assistant to check the number of people a lift can accommodate. Even the gate lock system is not as per standards. Lifts are installed in structures with five and more floors. However, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Authority, while sanctioning the building approvals, does not mention any guidelines for lift safety, it instead insists on fire and building stability safety.

The Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department of AP had issued an order in 2012 mentioning fire and electrical safety measures, but there was nothing about the safety or maintenance of lifts. The AP Apartments (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, 1987, mentions the measures to be taken, including electrical fittings, during installation of a lift.

But there is no mention about the safety and maintenance of lifts. Also, there is no mandatory requirement for a builder to apply for permission from a government body to install a lift in a structure.

While purchasing a property, most buyers do not check the quality of the lift or its life span. Mr J. Srinivas, owner of a lift company, said, “Lifts in residential, commercial and industrial buildings need to be installed as per the requirements laid down in the DCR rules prevailing at the time of execution of a project.