Lucky Escape As Lift Plunges 10 Floors At Pattaya Hotel

[denishuahin]

Bad when this can happen in a lift, from that hight it's lucky they were not killed! I was in Pattaya last week and got in my lift at Pattaya Hill resort there were 6 of us in it and someone tried to enter making 7 a buzzer went off as a warning that it was over loaded. The 7 person got out and we started i looked at the MAX Load it was 11 people or 700 kilos, i said to the others in the lift it was made for people with an average of 65 kilo, not us fat farang.

Edited July 26, 2010 by denishuahin

[denishuahin]

Please tell us the name of the condo complex so we don't stay there.

I remember reading that in Argentina that people die most everyday from elevator accidents. It is a country with many smaller older buildings, and older elevators. Yet we don't hear about elevator accidents very often here in Thailand. Happily, there were no deaths. They really were lucky.

I live in an 8 floor condo unit in Jomtien and heard a horrendous sound one afternoon when the lift plunged, free-fell, etc from the 8th to the 4th floor just after a person exited on the 8th floor. The lift took two days to repair and still has many problems. There are two lifts in the complex with one out of service for the past 2 months. They cannot seem to repair it properly. The life is manufactured by "Eastern Group" and seems to be rife with problems. Most residents use the stairs now. If an elevator actually did free-fall for 4 floors ....you would sustain serious injury and most likely death, 10 floors.....NO CHANCE baby!

[biplanebluey]

Whilst this is an horrific story I wonder if the facts are correct. If the lift fell from the 18th floor through 10 floors it would be at the 8th floor not the ground floor. Unless of course the ground floor is the 8th level and there are 7 underground floors.

However 16 injured suggests some form of braking motion otherwise they would be dead.

You really must read it properly---they entered the lift on the 18th floor but the power went off when at the 10th:whistling:

[Humphrey Bear]

Just my two pennorth.

It says that 18 people got in and that it fell ten floors. Therefore there must have been stops between the 18th floor and the tenth floor, with people getting in and out.

Then it fell ten floors. If the sixteen inside have all survived, then there was certainly an amount of braking involved. A 30m free-fall would have destroyed the lift and some deaths would also have resulted.

It just wasn't enough braking effect. As someone above mentioned (Crossy??) the lift would normally stop at a convenient floor, or be stopped immeditely the failure registered. Depends on the safety design. All lifts are checked every year (in Thailand). Other countries have differing regulations, but yearly checks are the norm.

Of course you can have lifts with 16 or more passengers. It depends on the size of the lift and the capacity of the motors and safety gear. All are normally matched to give a weight assessment. Then the number of passengers is calculated. In Thailand the norm is to allow 50kg per passenger, in UK it is 70kg per passenger. Although in tourist hotels it may be that the number of passengers is more restricted, as they expect some larger Europeans / Americans / Arabs to visit. I do not know the Jomtien hotel, but their other hotel on 2nd Road has smallish lifts.

I would expect this to be a maintenance error, with sub-standard parts substituted for the OEM parts that should have been fitted.

Check if Welcom have started a new maintenance contract in the past year or so, with a new, cheaper, entity.

[oki]

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

[asiawatcher]

As already said, there is no way a lift can fall 10 floors (that is 100 feet) without death. There are - on all lifts - braking mechanisms against failure and they are about 95% failure proof. But lift capacities usually hold out at 750 kgs so 16 people meant every pax had to be 46.8 kgs or less or else it was grossly over loaded in sardine style!

Nothing in this story adds up - sorry!

[DickFarang]

Whilst this is an horrific story I wonder if the facts are correct. If the lift fell from the 18th floor through 10 floors it would be at the 8th floor not the ground floor. Unless of course the ground floor is the 8th level and there are 7 underground floors.

However 16 injured suggests some form of braking motion otherwise they would be dead.

If there is no 13^th floor, that would mean the lift stopped at the 7^th floor.

[DickFarang]

As already said, there is no way a lift can fall 10 floors (that is 100 feet) without death. There are - on all lifts - braking mechanisms against failure and they are about 95% failure proof. But lift capacities usually hold out at 750 kgs so 16 people meant every pax had to be 46.8 kgs or less or else it was grossly over loaded in sardine style!

Nothing in this story adds up - sorry!

My Thai wife weighs 42 kg only. 16 x 42 = 672 kg only.

[warlord]

I didnt think this was possible, if there is a failure they are supposed to stop/lock where they are , i have a friend that works for otis and im sure he told me this, bizzarre

Yes i was under the same impression that there was a failsafe device that clicks in in case of such a disaster, sounds like it could be a typical thai maintanance thing that if it works why service it

[phutoie2]

As already said, there is no way a lift can fall 10 floors (that is 100 feet) without death. There are - on all lifts - braking mechanisms against failure and they are about 95% failure proof. But lift capacities usually hold out at 750 kgs so 16 people meant every pax had to be 46.8 kgs or less or else it was grossly over loaded in sardine style!

Nothing in this story adds up - sorry!

My Thai wife weighs 42 kg only. 16 x 42 = 672 kg only.

My Thai wife weighs 62 kg only. 16 x 62 = 992 kg only.

[Jingthing]

Corners are cut and people get hurt. But I am serious about my last comment. It is surprising that we don't hear about MORE of these kinds of accidents in Thailand, so somebody is doing something right.

It always amazes me why there are not jets falling out of the sky in Thailand. The service technicians will be getting paid peanuts no doubt and that coupled with the mai mee pann ha (no ploblem) Thai attitude, should be a recipe for a disaster

The two things are not the same in any way. Air safety is highly regulated, with international oversight. Elevators in a particular building are under the control of the whimsies of a particular management of that building. There may be municipal regulations as well but we all know about corruption in Thailand. So I still think it's surprising there aren't more elevator accidents.

[ding]

No auto brake? Well, no codes, code enforcement and inspection = deaths.

Myself, I read the dates on inspection placards on lifts and look for sprinklers.

[Rimmer]

UPDATE

Investigative Teams Maintain Silence Over Lift Disaster

PATTAYA: -- As yet, no explanation has been provided by the company responsible for maintenance of the lift which plummeted 10 floors injuring 16 people on Saturday. Investigations are ongoing between the maintenance company and local Pattaya police, who have been reluctant to comment on the incident.

Pattaya, the 25th of July 2010 [PDN]: Following the devastating lift accident at the Welcome Jomtien Hotel on Saturday, in which 16 people were seriously injured, investigative teams examining the incident stated that details would not be released until the analysis was completed.

The full story is HERE

PATTAYA DAILY NEWS

-- 2010-07-26

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[elkangorito]

From the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS

-- 2010-07-26

An unnamed representative from the investigative team suggested that it might take up to one week to understand the full cause of the accident.

This statement is rubbish. In Thailand it takes a week but in any other country, a technician would be able to give an answer in less than a day.

What I find strange is that a 'code' or the like, is not mentioned in the news clip. I suspect that there is no such code in Thailand, which is similar to that of the electrical situation here...zero regulatory control.

There are far too many unknowns for me to comment on why I think such an accident occured. If lift maintenance & installation in Thailand is anything like the electrical installations here, it's glaringly obvious that training is inadequate (education) & regulatory control is nonexistent (Standards).

EDIT: A bit of extra info...the counterweight in most 'people' lifts is usually about 40% heavier than the unladen weight of the lift car, for obvious reasons.

Edited July 26, 2010 by elkangorito

[punisher]

Uh, shit...'Visit Thailand, here your worst phobia can come real'.

Jomtien,nice place I think 13 yrs ago almost 100 people died in a big fire in royal jomtien hotel

[snaggletooth]

No way was this free fall (though it might have felt like it). After 10 levels thats an awful lot of kinetic energy presumably the safety devices slowed them down to an extent, they are lucky to survive.

agreed. a few tons of elevator plummeting would leave everybody dead dead dead. another instance of accurate thai reporting.

[hm1973]

Unfortunately due to the timing of the incident and the fact that we close on Sundays, some bad information has been in the public domain for longer than it would normally be. I suggest a quick look at the Pattaya One website will clear things up. I am a bit surprised admin/mods have not posted the story here.

I am also surprised at the PDN update stating that investigators are remaining silent. This is not the case. They were more than happy for us to film them inspecting the elevator control room and also told us what really happened.

Edited July 26, 2010 by hm1973

[johwel]

Sixteen people is rather a lot for one lift. And there's no way that it freefell ten floors. Try jumping off a ten story building onto a concrete pad and see how much of you is left to take to hospital.

agreed.

i have an impresion that some kind of brakes did take (some kind of) action, but breaking power was not enough to stop overloaded elevator.

from the other side while i was in thailand, i also had an impresion -if you have enough money - you can do everything - just like in western countries. the only problem is that bribe starts on much lower level in thailand. (so -if you are a lift manufacturer, you can have a qc/technical permission for your product, even if you did not make all the necessary security measures. just have to pay to right person.

anyhow, i'm glad these people are "just" injured, and nobody was killed

I'd like to know if there was total zero gravity feeling in the lift during fall or only partial. The lift might also have compressed the air below during fall, almost like a worn-out engine's piston without rings. Luckily there was no combustion.

[elkangorito]

The majority of posters know nothing about lifts or lift maintenance. Why all the unqualified speculation?

[powderpuff]

Uh, shit...'Visit Thailand, here your worst phobia can come real'.

Come on you foreign embassies time for a travel warning.

[rhinoboy55]

As the Thai's are the best engineers in the world I cannot imagine how this happened, my god they know everything about everything.

[brahmburgers]

Corners are cut and people get hurt. But I am serious about my last comment. It is surprising that we don't hear about MORE of these kinds of accidents in Thailand, so somebody is doing something right.

It appears there was some sort of emergency braking happening, but it was being overpowered by the overloaded elevator. If they were Americans, then each person accounts for two due to being overweight.

.....and what about building, particularly older multi-story ones? Are there any inspectors in Thailand, and if so, are any non-corruptible? (do walruses swim in mud holes in Ugunda?). I went in to a building which serves as a small nursing training center. It had a concrete beam (supporting an upper concrete floor) spanning 7 meters with no posts along its span - a serious accident waiting to happen. When I mentioned it to the half dozen staff in the building, they just grinned at the silly farang and said 'mai pen rai.'

[brahmburgers]

Hello Thailand, get ready for at least four nuclear power plants - coming to a town near you.

[Payboy]

And the Welcome will pay their hospital bills, I bet

Lift Parts Made in China???

Cheap jibe! Your iPad, iTouch and iMacs are built there! More like North Korea.

Yeah, and don't forget the new iPhone.

[Payboy]

As already said, there is no way a lift can fall 10 floors (that is 100 feet) without death.

Let us not impose our western perceptions on this country.

Gravity in LOS is not as strong as the rest of the world.

[bob99]

Having maintained lifts for years I would ask what happened to the gravity contolled dogs which lock into the guides after a set lift speed is exceeded?

a test we always carried out on annually inspection

bob99

[chmike]

Having maintained lifts for years I would ask what happened to the gravity contolled dogs which lock into the guides after a set lift speed is exceeded?

a test we always carried out on annually inspection

bob99

"Gravity controlled dogs"!! <deleted>? I want to ride in an elevator on the planet where you maintained lifts; they sound pretty cool.

Seriously, I'm sure "dogs" is a typo, but I can't for the life of me figure out what word you meant to use...

[GM1955]

Not totally true I know, but this sort of thing only happens in Hollywood movies and third world countries.

Each year in the U.S., elevator accidents result in up to 30 fatalities and more than 10,000 injuries. There are at least 600,000 elevators across the country, with millions of individual elevator trips taken each day.

Although state regulations cover the safe construction, operation, and maintenance of elevators, non-compliance with these regulations is common.

[ScubaBuddha]

The majority of posters know nothing about lifts or lift maintenance. Why all the unqualified speculation?

But it makes such fun reading!!

[ScubaBuddha]

It would seem the experts ho say it is impossible for a lift to fall are and are not correct.

And to the knockers of Thailand who just can't help themselves This is not exclusive to Thailand lifts have fallen all over the world so it would seem the impossible is very possible.....to the stairs lads

When the Tower Bridge lift fell 10ft there were 16 people in the lift

Only 6 suffered broken legs and ankles the rest walked away unhurt.

Maybe some of out American friends have heard of the Empire State building? Cable broke and the lift plunged 400 (Four hundred feet)....of course that's impossible to.

Then there was the Fitzgeralds Hotel in Las vegas their lift plummeted 26 floors.

When this report said the lift plunged 10 storeys what they forget to mention is the speed of the so called freefall....pretty obvious the safety mechanism kicked in and saved the occupants from certain death.

I think the last few idiots who overcrowded the lift are to blame and are dam_n lucky the lift company and hotel did their part in maintaining the lift or they would all be dead.

Lets put this in perspective shall we?

The Tower Bridge lift, built in 1892, fell 10 ft. 16 people, 6 injuries. No deaths.

Yes I have heard of the Empire State Building. You failed to mention the details of that accident. In 1945 it had a B-25 bomber crash into it so I think we can give that one a pass. That's kind of like adding all the lifts of the World Trade Center to your list. The plane actually severed the cables of two lifts causing them to free fall. One was unoccupied, the other reportedly fell from the 75th floor. Some sources state safety devices slowed the car, others state that the safety cushions at the bottom of the shaft, plus the 1000 feet of coiled cable, plus a cushion of air pressure allowed the sole occupant of the lift, (or two occupants depending on the source) to somehow survive with serious injuries. No deaths from the lift free fall.

The Fitzgerald Hotel elevators emergency brakes kicked in as designed and stopped the elevator before it impacted the bottom of the shaft. 9 people on board, 3 had minor injuries. No deaths.

Plus you missed one--In 2007 the cables on a lift at the Seattle Children's Hospital broke. The emergency brakes stopped the elevator quickly. No Injuries.

Several sources state that there has never been a single death attributed to elevator freefall. But I did find one case which resultined in a fatality. It sounds like a cable broke just as the girl was exiting the car, catching her halfway. Brakes engaging even a floor below wouldn't help in that scenario.

The majority of posters know nothing about lifts or lift maintenance. Why all the unqualified speculation?

But it makes such fun reading!!

Several sources state that there has never been a single death attributed to elevator freefall. But I did find one case resulting in a death. The cable broke just as the girl was exiting the car, catching her halfway in and halfway out. Brakes engaging even 1 floor below wouldn't help in that scenario. http://www.telegraph...lift-death.html

Even so, that's an astonishing safety record considering how many lifts are in operation around the world. It's a bit misleading to say "lifts have fallen all around the world" when most of them had safety devices installed and working, as many have suggested is the case here.

source: http://www.newyorker...currentPage=all

Edited July 29, 2010 by 7by7
Edited at poster's request to remove duplications. (Hope I got it right!)