KOCHI: Around 20 persons, including toddlers and women, encountered several anxious moments after they got stuck for over an hour inside an elevator at the Centre Square Mall here. However, they were eventually brought out safely by Fire Force personnel who had been alerted by one of the women trapped inside.
The incident also revealed the indifference on the part of mall employees who allegedly failed to respond to the pleas for help from the elevator’s occupants. It was following this they were forced to summon help from outside. The mall authorities while refuting this said they had taken all steps to rescue the people at the earliest and the operation had been completed in 30 minutes.
Anoop Raj, duty manager at the mall, said the trapped persons had been brought safely even before the Fire Force personnel reached the spot. The elevator got stuck between the fourth and fifth floor.
“We have an in-house team to handle this kind of a situation and they were able to provide the necessary help immediately,” Raj said. It was Infopark employee Aashritha of Elamkulam who called up the Fire Force from her mobile after she found help was not forthcoming from authorities concerned. Aashritha told Express she and the other occupants got stuck inside the lift for nearly an hour before help arrived.
“When the elevator was going down from the fifth floor, I heard a snapping sound and the elevator tilted slightly. Soon after it got stuck,” Aashritha said. “We rang the emergency alarm, but there was no response. The lift operator who was inside the elevator tried to contact the operator’s room. He also contacted the emergency number which was at first unreachable. After a while when it started to ring, nobody answered the call. Later, the lift operator contacted a technician or some other person. Children started wailing while some of the others developed suffocation. After the situation got worse, I called up the Fire Force,” she said.
Praveen Kumar, Leading Fireman, Fire and Rescue station, Club Road here said they were not alerted by the Mall authorities as per guidelines. A lady from inside the lift called them.
“The Fire Force got a call around 7.45pm and a seven-member team from the Club Road Fire and Rescue office rushed to the spot. But the Mall authorities refused to fully cooperate with the team which reached the mall,” said Praveen. He said the security guards seemed totally unaware of the incident. Though the security officer acknowledged it, he declined the firemen’s request to take them to the trapped elevator saying the mall has an inhouse team capable of dealing with such situations. When they managed to get there, people were still stuck inside. The technicians managed to raise the elevator and the persons inside were brought out safely.Aashritha has lodged a written complaint with the mall authorities stating the emergency response was very poor and steps should be taken to address the issue at the earliest.