AIIMS lift

“The lift failed to stop from second floor to ground floor and went straight to the lift pit which has buffer springs,” read a statement by the hospital.

Of the 20 people inside the elevator, the five who sustained injuries were identified as RK Agarwal, 62, Shashi Kant, 50, Hemant Jha, 45, Taslim Ali, 35, and Shweta Sinha, 29. They were rushed to the hospital’s emergency department. Sinha, the injured 29-year-old woman, was moved to the hospital’s trauma centre across the road for the treatment of her fractured leg.

The hospital said all five people were stable.

“Four of the five, who sustained minor injuries like cuts and bruises and muscle sprains, were discharged in the afternoon and evening after appropriate treatment,” a hospital employee said on the condition of anonymity

IIMS director Randeep Guleria set up a committee under the chairmanship of medical superintendent DK Sharma.

“There has never been an incident like this at AIIMS and the committee will look into why it happened even after the lift being properly maintained. And, the committee will also suggest appropriate measures for preventing such incidents from happening in the future,” Sharma said.

The company that had installed the elevator had serviced the particular elevator on February 27 under the comprehensive maintenance contract, the hospital statement said.

“It’s not a small incident. The elevator is not only used by the ward patients, but also to transport patients to the operation theatre, transport critical patients on ventilators to the ICU, patients with oxygen cylinders and even for going to the OPD block. That’s because the elevator is strategi-