12 injured as lift falls from 5th floor at Nabard office

LUCKNOW: At least 12 persons suffered injuries when the iron wire of a lift snapped resulting in its free fall from the fifth floor at the regional office of Nabard here on Thursday morning. Apart from the rural credit bank's employees, some representatives of the marketing federations and societies, who had come from various districts for a meeting, were among the injured.
According to doctors at a private hospital, where the injured were being treated, the condition of all the injured persons was stable. "Of the 12 patients admitted here, one has sustained spinal injuries, while nine suffered injuries in the lower limbs. Two of them have already been discharged by evening," said a doctor on duty.
When contacted, senior Nabard officials confirmed that the bank had signed an annual maintenance contract with V-Ascent, under which the company was to perform monthly maintenance check on the elevator systems in the first week of every month. While they refused to comment on whether the routine check was conducted in September, they said the bank had written to V-Ascent asking them to explain why Thursday's lapse occurred.
The bank's official spokesperson also said any action, legal or otherwise, would be initiated after V-Ascent responds to the bank's queries.
The Nabard officials also denied that the accident could have been a result of overloading. They said the elevator car could accommodate 12 persons and only the requisite numbers were inside at the time of the accident. This, they said, could also be corroborated from the hospital, where only 12 persons were directed, for medical assistance. Later in an official statement, the bank said that it was taking due medical care of all the injured.
Narrating the accident, an injured Ajay Kumar Srivastava said, "At 10.00 am, we boarded the lift for the fifth floor, and few minutes later it started moving in the upwards direction. As soon as we reached the fifth floor, we tried to open the door of the lift, but we were unable to do so. Then we decided to go to the fourth floor. But, as soon as we pressed the button, we started hearing noises of the breaking of the iron rope, which holds the lift, and then after few moments, we hit the ground with a thud."
Kaushal Kumar Saxena, another victim who was trapped, said, "The lift had a limit of carrying 12 persons, and there were 12 persons on the lift. There was no lift operator. As soon as we hit the ground, we started shouting to attract the attention of the people present in the vicinity. We finally made our way out by modifying the channel gate." Relatives attending to the injured persons claimed that the support mechanism in the lift was absent.
Ashok Kumar Dixit, who had come from Lakhimpur, was quite horrified by the injuries sustained by him in the freefall. "There are two lifts in the Nabard building. We all were going to the fifth floor but when the lift got stuck at the fifth floor, we decided to take it to the fourth floor. However, destiny had something else in store and as the lift reached the fourth floor, the iron ropes started breaking and in few moments, we hit the ground."
Suresh Pratap Singh, a resident of Kanpur Dehat who also injured his lower limbs in the freefall was finding it hard to walk. He said that there were 12-13 persons in the lift, when it started its freefall. Dhruv Raj Singh, a resident of Lucknow has sustained spinal injuries.