In a shocking incident, a 59-year-old man was trapped in a lift at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Thiruvananthapuram for two days. Hospital officials were unaware of the situation until the morning of Monday, July 15. Ravindran Nair, a resident of Ulloor and a patient, who was at the hospital for a medical check-up, got stuck inside the lift of the OP block of the MCH on July 13. He was rescued by a lift operator who arrived for routine maintenance on the morning of July 15.
Ravindran was found in a weak condition and was rushed to the hospital's casualty department for a medical examination and is now reported to be stable. According to media reports, Ravindran got into the lift to go to the first floor from the ground floor but said that the lift came down and did not open. The lift reportedly became stuck between two floors. His phone fell and broke, preventing him from making calls. He pressed the lift alarm and tried calling emergency numbers listed inside, but received no response. As his phone remained unreachable, his family filed a missing person report with the medical college police on July 14.
“Later, after some time, I lost track of time inside the lift. This morning, an operator came, and I pressed the alarm. We both forcefully opened the door from both sides, and I jumped out of it,” he told the media. He also told media persons that there was even no board or any kind of message to convey that the lift was not working.
Ravindran's son, Hari Shankar, said his father was shaken after being trapped inside the lift for almost two days. The family had assumed that Ravindran had left for work and was working extra hours. He also criticised the hospital authorities for not even bothering to check whether the elevator is working or not and that it took them two days to find out that a man was stuck inside.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George has initiated an investigation into the incident and requested a report. The Health Department has also suspended three staff members, two lift operators and a duty sergeant, due to their involvement in the incident.