Thai Woman Drops To Her Death In Lift Plunge

[KuhnPaen]

A Thai horror movie called "The Haunted Lift" should be out shortly.

[jimbeam1]

Is there a Thai word for maintenance?

Is there a Thai word for maintenance?

Yes it begins with Z, ends with Z and has a lot of little zs in between.

jb1

Edited November 20, 2012 by jimbeam1

[Pimay1]

Thai logic: It's the people's fault for being in the lift. If they had not been in the lift they would not have been injured or killed. Kinda like the drunk Thai dude broadsiding a truck driven by a farang stopped at a red light waiting for the light to turn green. Farang's fault for sure.

[rfukata]

is there any mention on how tall the building is and the elevator (lift) load? some of these smaller lifts are pretty tiny and could

be compared to a household type elevator.

[asiawatcher]

Lifts usually are run by electric motors driving traction cables or counterweight systems and they have automatic brakes in the event of slippage but I don't think they have anything to offset a cable breakage.

Just the opposite, the emergency braking system is meant to handle exactly that emergency.

Elisha Otis would demonstrate his invention in front of crowds by being hoisted up in an open wooden elevator and then having the rope holding it cut to demonstrate that it would not fall more than a few feet.

Thx for the correction, always wiling to learn.

[fred007]

Is there a Thai word for maintenance?

Is there a Thai word for No ......

Edited November 20, 2012 by metisdead
Repaired the reply, when replying to a quoted post, do not make your entry inside the quote tags.

[Cheesekraft]

investigation will determine whether the accident resulted from recklessness.

i hope they mean negligence.

showroom owner is well connected, and they are considering charging the victims with breaking a lift, perhaps

[MEL1]

Is there a Thai word for maintenance?

"time for go home already"

Something I've wondered about is where the elevators out here are made, and if the maker is also the entity that installs it. I've noticed most of the ones in big buildings are made in Europe, Japan, or US. The ones without a plate announcing the maker I assume to be of lesser quality. I would think China must be making these, maybe Taiwan.

This incident has me wondering if the elevator in question was made in Indonesia or Malaysia.

you cant say lifts make in certain countries are of inferior quality or without certain safety features...nonsense...lifts without auto brakes system is unimaginable ,,there must be minimum standard....i would believe there is a lack of regular maintenance or non replacement of certain parts because of whatever reasons that lead to this....with maintenance, the lift will be given a certificate that you can see hang in it....

Believe you me, if there is a cost effective 'minimum standard' then for sure it's implemented in Thailand..... and not just lifts!

A very tragic event, indeed!

-mel.

[Renbe]

Some of you need to get over your constant anti-Thailand rants.

Hear, hear! As if tragic accidents like this only happen in Thailand. I hardly ever visit Thaivisa any more, because I get sick and tired of reading all the pathetic comments how bad and corrupt everything is in Thailand. I often wonder if these comments are written by people that live in Thailand, and if so, what are they doing in a country that is so bad and so corrupt.

Edited November 20, 2012 by Renbe

[dartvidar]

Lifts usually are run by electric motors driving traction cables or counterweight systems and they have automatic brakes in the event of slippage but I don't think they have anything to offset a cable breakage. If it is established it is cable breakage, I would think the owners could be held culpable as any 'regular' maintenance would require cable inspection and replacement if old. T.i.T., and like so many other 'mishaps', there will be a lot of finger pointing and the problem swept under the carpet after some payoffs. Sad for the injured and the pregnant lady's miscarriage.

On a normal modern personal lifts, they have mechanical emergency breaks that prevent the elevator car from falling if the hoisting cables break (so dont worry). The breaks are installed under the elevator car, and they are normaly engaged by gravity. If you look at the picture, it looks like an old elevator for transporting furnitures and not people. It is a furniture show room so this elevators are probably made for only transporting furnitures, so it's no emergency breaks installed to save money.

[cdnvic]

In most countries the regulations for freight elevators are not as strict as they are for passenger ones. That being said, they aren`t normally allowed to carry members of the public either.

[dartvidar]

Is there a Thai word for maintenance?

"time for go home already"

Something I've wondered about is where the elevators out here are made, and if the maker is also the entity that installs it. I've noticed most of the ones in big buildings are made in Europe, Japan, or US. The ones without a plate announcing the maker I assume to be of lesser quality. I would think China must be making these, maybe Taiwan.

This incident has me wondering if the elevator in question was made in Indonesia or Malaysia.

you cant say lifts make in certain countries are of inferior quality or without certain safety features...nonsense...lifts without auto brakes system is unimaginable ,,there must be minimum standard....i would believe there is a lack of regular maintenance or non replacement of certain parts because of whatever reasons that lead to this....with maintenance, the lift will be given a certificate that you can see hang in it....

If you look at the picture it looks like an old goods lift. If you look in the elevator certificate it's probably written not to be use as personal lift. It`s only required emergency breaks on personel elevators.

[masuk]

What could possibly be negligent about not having an emergengy braking system on the lift??

I once read that all modern lifts/elevators have a system that locks the lift cab if it starts falling.

Is this the same principle that new Thai cars don't need any or more than one air bag? money counts!

[noitom]

It's "negligence" not recklessness. It happens a lot in Thailand, but as they said, it's the first elevator plunge resulting in death. I know of one in a modern hi rise office near Asoke, but there were no deaths.

Other posters indicated that this happens all around the world. True, but Thailand is far behind on safety standards, regular honest inspections, and regular maintenance routines. With elevators, these factors are critical to maintain safety.

[Crushdepth]

Some of you need to get over your constant anti-Thailand rants.

Hear, hear! As if tragic accidents like this only happen in Thailand. I hardly ever visit Thaivisa any more, because I get sick and tired of reading all the pathetic comments how bad and corrupt everything is in Thailand. I often wonder if these comments are written by people that live in Thailand, and if so, what are they doing in a country that is so bad and so corrupt.

In case you haven't noticed, it *is* corrupt.

[spidermike007]

Lifts usually are run by electric motors driving traction cables or counterweight systems and they have automatic brakes in the event of slippage but I don't think they have anything to offset a cable breakage. If it is established it is cable breakage, I would think the owners could be held culpable as any 'regular' maintenance would require cable inspection and replacement if old. T.i.T., and like so many other 'mishaps', there will be a lot of finger pointing and the problem swept under the carpet after some payoffs. Sad for the injured and the pregnant lady's miscarriage.

He says the owner's would be held culpable. Is there even a word culpable in the Thai language? Does it not depend on how much cash the owners have, who they know, and how clever they are? What does it have to do with responsibility or being held responsible for one's actions? When was the last time you saw that? Does it happen here?

[tangcoral]

maybe the brakes were worn out.

[01322521959]

A totally uncomprehending smile. Very scarey.

[Postmaster]

Another reason to avoid Lifts and Escalators like the Plague ! LAYH Look after your Heart : Use the stairs ! I do daily.

[55Jay]

Does this happen often in Thailand? If so, why do we call them lifts? Why not drops?

Does anyone who has now sworn off riding in lifts after this article, still ride a motorcy?

Tragic event, very sad.

Edited November 20, 2012 by 55Jay

[xen]

I was recently in a lift with a friend who spent many years as a lift mechanic and we spoke about the lift falling, as one does when one is in a lift ,and he told me that a lift should not fall but will actually go upwards in the shaft because of the counter weights most lift have to ease the strain of lifting a lift. He said these counter weights are actually heavier than the lift . Does not sound this lift was designed in that way .

[BWPattaya]

It doesn't only happen in Thailand. People get killed in lifts the world over, including USA and UK. Here's just one example - http://www.dailymail...nge-woman.html. You can find plenty more yourselves. If the company were negligent they should be punished, but this is nothing to do with Thailand in general. If it was there would be a lot more of these incidents, which there aren't. Some of you need to get over your constant anti-Thailand rants.

I totally agree. When I saw the headline I knew there would be people jumping on the bandwagon to knock Thailand. I remember the Markham pit disaster, when a lift broke and many people died with many others seriously injured.

I have a friend here. He is well educated, intelligent and articulate. Very likeable, and very conscientious. He is a lift engineer and is on-call 24 hours a day. Only ever drinks when it is his day/night off-duty.

[Arkady]

I was in a lift in a very old run down hotel in Northern Greece that was approaching the first floor and suddenly dropped with a bang onto its springs just below the ground floor. Luckily there was no basement. The drop was frightening, like an aeroplane hitting an air pocket, but fortunately no one was injured in the fall. The worst of it was being stuck in the lift for another 40 minutes while they got the doors open to let us clamber out onto the ground floor. I was with about 15 elderly Greek widows dressed in black who were all panicking badly and calling on their maker and the Virgin Mary for forgiveness, as if their luck had finally run out. I wanted to tell to shut up and preserve oxygen but they wouldn't have understood and it would only have made things worse. I can confirm that being in a falling lift is not a pleasant experience and I was very lucky that it didn't drop further and that the ancient springs held.

[Arkady]

"...the first legally recognised death caused by a falling lift".

Presumably others have died the same way but building owners arranged for their deaths to be recognised as death through causes unknown or not legally recognised as deaths at all.

Given that there were very few buildings over 4 stories in Thailand before 1986 when the high rise construction boom took, there must mow be thousands of elderly lifts, many of which are poorly maintained to save costs. That is not to mention the thousands of high rises constructed before earthquake regulations were introduced only a few years ago.

[antpet]

Not yet gathered evidence and so no one arrested.

Time to gather the evidence. Of course.

The same time needed to get safety certificates issued along with up to date inspection certificates showing all is correct and proper.

I expect to see a certificate showing a fully working brake mechanism maintained only 10 days ago. Mysteriously it has been removed since then! Must have been a burglary done by one of those lift brake mechanism stealing gangs you hear so much about. The local police will no doubt find the culprit. A single low intelligence drifter will be 'interviewed' and admit he done it. Case closed.

At least the stores owners aren't to blame.

They did everything they could to keep safety number one oh ....... and er ........... safety first.

With all this publicity they'll be having a some special offers with prices to die for.

[DocN]

It doesn't only happen in Thailand. People get killed in lifts the world over, including USA and UK. Here's just one example - http://www.dailymail...nge-woman.html. You can find plenty more yourselves. If the company were negligent they should be punished, but this is nothing to do with Thailand in general. If it was there would be a lot more of these incidents, which there aren't. Some of you need to get over your constant anti-Thailand rants.

I totally agree. When I saw the headline I knew there would be people jumping on the bandwagon to knock Thailand. I remember the Markham pit disaster, when a lift broke and many people died with many others seriously injured.

I have a friend here. He is well educated, intelligent and articulate. Very likeable, and very conscientious. He is a lift engineer and is on-call 24 hours a day. Only ever drinks when it is his day/night off-duty.

That says a lot about the work - ethics of your friend.

Though it says nothing, nill and nada about the abysmal and desastrous safety meassures in Thailand.

Laws may exist, but their enforcement is what counts.

And as long as some Baht- notes under the table gives you a "go" on your safety- inspection, it is what it is: an accident waiting to happen! (pun intended!)

[canman]

Are emeg brakes not required in Thailand?

Yes they are and even if a cable snaps it should still not drop.

I am fairly sure that elevators are fitted with a centrifugal type of fail safe brake. These operate on a similar principle to a car seatbelt in that they will engage if the designed speed of the elevator is exceeded. I belive these brakes engage beams running vertical in the elevator shaft.

[Andre0720]

It doesn't only happen in Thailand. People get killed in lifts the world over, including USA and UK. Here's just one example - http://www.dailymail...nge-woman.html. You can find plenty more yourselves. If the company were negligent they should be punished, but this is nothing to do with Thailand in general. If it was there would be a lot more of these incidents, which there aren't. Some of you need to get over your constant anti-Thailand rants.

Perhaps not necessarily anti-Thailand rants.

Accidents can surely occur even when and where proper maintenance is done.

It just happens in this instance that this lift accident happened in a country where responsibility is not the prevalent quality. And in a country where mai bpen rai is on everyone's lips.

So of course some equations will be made.

But we are still here. Must be some advantages that weigh more on the scale than the disadvantages.

Our presence here is pro-Thailand.

[Keesters]

Is there a Thai word for maintenance?

Perhaps the "don't fix what ain't broke" system was used here. Now they know it's broke they'll fix it.

A tragic loss of live, my heartfelt condolences to the family of the dead and injured.

[ResX]

investigation will determine whether the accident resulted from recklessness.

i hope they mean negligence.

Actually we must assume negligence unless proven otherwise. That is the rule about human lifting machine. At least the principle is valid in most of the countries in world, including my country.

Such machine shall have permit to operate. To get the permit, it has to go for annual inspection. At design stage, the safety factor of the pulling slings normally is set at 400%. This means if the lift can pull 3200kg, the allowable operating load has to be limited to 800kg. There are many mechanical and electrical interlock protections to ensure that the lift should have not be allowed to operate above its operating load.

How could all those safety considerations did not work? The only glaring possible root causes are : Overload protections were bypassed to enable higher than allowable load to be lifted. The permit was never renewed or renewed via back door. The pulling slings were not inspected for very long time. Unless proven otherwise, these are the most logical root causes to trigger such tragic incident.