Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    A NURSE who got stuck in an elevator door died when the elevator suddenly malfunctioned, stopped between floors and then moved sharply up and down yesterday in Changhong Building in Luohu District.

    The nurse, 24-year-old Shanxi Province native Wang Fang, was an intern at Shenzhen Pengcheng Hospital. The hospital occupies the first four floors of the building containing the elevator. Wang was using her mobile phone as she tried to walk out of the elevator after it suddenly stopped between the second and third floors.

    A man in the elevator, which was carrying more than 10 people at the time, including two other nurses, said Wang wasn’t paying attention when she walked out of the elevator and she apparently thought it had reached the third floor.

    The door closed suddenly and Wang’s head and leg got stuck between the closing sides.

    The elevator then moved rapidly up to the fifth floor, pulling Wang along, and then suddenly plunged to the building’s basement, according to other passengers who were in the elevator.

    Wang died at the scene. Blood was visible on the elevator’s door and floor.

    The other passengers tried to save Wang, who was struggling to free herself, but failed. Wang likely died of a broken neck, witnesses said. She fell to the floor when the door opened in the basement.

    Security guards who were on duty said the elevator plunged directly from the 16th floor to the basement, conflicting with some witness reports.

    The elevator was managed by Changhong Property Management Co. and maintained by Weida Elevator Service Co. Its next scheduled maintenance is May 26, Shenzhen’s market supervision authorities said yesterday. Authorities closed three other elevators for safety checks after the tragedy.

    Property managers said the elevator had been used for 18 years and problems such as the door opening improperly and the elevator stopping between floors had happened before.