Picture courtesy of Matichon.

 

Six people, including a heavily pregnant woman and a seven-year-old girl, endured a terrifying ordeal after becoming trapped inside a hospital lift at Pathum Thani Hospital for over an hour.

 

At approximately 08:20 on 7 May, Pathum Thani City Police received an emergency call from the hospital reporting that multiple patients and visitors were stuck inside a malfunctioning lift. Officers from the local police station and volunteers from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation were immediately dispatched to the scene.

 

The incident occurred in the Chalerm Phrakiat 80th Birthday Anniversary Building, a nine-storey facility used for general patient care. According to hospital staff, six people were inside Lift No. 3 at the time it broke down. One of the trapped individuals managed to call a relative, who alerted hospital authorities , but the group was unable to identify which floor they were stuck on.

Rescue workers began knocking on the lift doors from floors 1 through 9 before finally hearing a response from those trapped on the 9th floor. However, initial attempts to open the lift failed. A person inside the lift called out to report that the group was struggling to breathe due to the lack of ventilation and heat.

 

This prompted responders to urgently pry open the lift doors using crowbars. All six individuals were successfully rescued and brought to safety, although visibly shaken. The seven-year-old girl reportedly burst into tears upon exiting the lift, while others had sustained minor bruising.

 

All victims were immediately taken to the hospital’s medical unit for examination. Once cleared by doctors, they were discharged and allowed to return home.

 

One of the victims, a pregnant woman nearing her due date, described the moment the lift malfunctioned. She had entered the lift on the first floor with her husband and four others, an elderly couple, a young girl, and the girl’s mother, intending to go to the fourth floor for a prenatal check-up.

 

After pressing the button, the lift appeared to rise normally, with floor indicators lighting up for levels 1 through 4. However, she described a sudden and violent acceleration upwards, followed by a loud crash and a complete loss of power inside the lift. The force of the impact caused everyone to fall to the floor.

 

Panic quickly set in. The emergency call button inside the lift was unresponsive, and a call to the emergency services number, 191, went unanswered. It was only after the relative contacted the hospital directly that rescue efforts began in earnest.

 

“There was a moment where we really thought we wouldn’t get out,” she said. “The air was getting thin, and it was hard to breathe. Thankfully, help arrived just in time.” She reported suffering minor injuries to her arms and legs and said she would undergo a full check-up to assess any impact on her pregnancy.

 

The hospital has not yet issued an official statement regarding the cause of the lift failure, though concerns are expected to be raised about maintenance and emergency response procedures following the incident.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon 2025-05-08.

 

 

 

 

Maintenance 

3 minutes ago, jcmj said:

Maintenance 

Lack thereof.  Things can still go wrong with a perfect maintained piece of mechanical/electrical equipment of course.

On 5/8/2025 at 4:50 AM, Georgealbert said:

endured a terrifying ordeal 

 

Trapped in Hospital Lift for Over an Hour 

You reckon that's terrifying, you want to spend an hour with my ex wife. 

 

 

On 5/8/2025 at 4:50 AM, Georgealbert said:

All victims were immediately taken to the hospital’s medical unit for examination.

Using another lift? 

Wouldn't you call the maintenance service first, before you call the police? Why did they need a rescue service if this was inside the hospital? And why did the people need to be medically examined?

 

I think the article does not tell us the full story.

14 minutes ago, onthemoon said:

Wouldn't you call the maintenance service first, before you call the police? Why did they need a rescue service if this was inside the hospital? And why did the people need to be medically examined?

 

I think the article does not tell us the full story.

I was thinking that. Police and rescue workers who have no idea what they are doing( as I can't see them being trained in lift maintenance.) Messing about with a lift on the 9th floor is the last people I would want

1 hour ago, klauskunkel said:

Using another lift? 

NO NO, they all walked down the stairs level 9 to level 1 to get a medical check up...

 

All healthy so they then took another lift level 1 to level 9 to resume their purpose.

 

Just common sense. 

On 5/8/2025 at 4:50 AM, Georgealbert said:

Panic quickly set in. The emergency call button inside the lift was unresponsive, and a call to the emergency services number, 191 went unanswered.

Safety last again