A 10-year-girl was tragically killed in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, after she got stuck in the elevator of an apartment in Tarakarama Nagar.
The girl, identified as Swathi, was reportedly playing in Kota's Residency, the apartment where her uncle was the watchman. According to The New Indian Express she became stuck in the gap between the door of the lift and the grill, just as residents on another floor called up the elevator and it began moving.
"The girl didn’t have much power to come out and got crushed. The incident happened within seconds. Swathi, who received severe injuries on her chest and stomach, died on the spot," Inspector Lakshmana Murthy told TNIE.
Visuals from the scene showed that Swathi's torso got crushed between the elevator and the interior wall between two floors before the lift was stopped.
Swathi's father is also a watchman at the Uma Maheswari Residency, which is situated near the building where the mishap occurred.
The Times of India reported that the PM Palem police registered a case under Section 174 of the IPC, relating to unnatural death.
Swathi’s relatives pointed fingers at the apartment management for the tragic mishap.
“The apartment management had not been maintaining the lift for the last one year. The bad condition of the lift could be the reason behind the fatal mishap,” one of the relatives told TOI.
Speaking to TV5, another relative said, "Swathi had come to the building at around 12pm. After she came, she saw that my son had gone up in the lift. Maybe she also wanted to go, and was getting into the lift, when the incident happened."
However, residents of the apartment told local media outlets that the lift was maintained well, and this was an unfortunate mishap.
The police said that an investigation had been launched, and a clearer picture should emerge after its inquiries are completed.