INDORE: As many as 23 rail passengers, including women and children, had a harrowing time when they got stuck inside an elevator at Ratlam railway station, around 130km from Indore, for over 40 minutes on Friday morning.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel had to prise open the elevator gates to allow fresh air to pass into the shaft for the passengers as rescue efforts went on, official sources said.
The incident took place at 5.05am when the elevator on platform 2, designed to carry a maximum of 20 people, was stuck on the ground floor. Passengers panicked when the doors wouldn’t open, and pressed the emergency button. Some shouted for help while others made frantic calls. RPF personnel patrolling the platform heard the shouts for help and informed emergency teams and technicians.
As railway electrical staff worked to open the lift doors, those trapped began complaining of breathlessness.“Within a few minutes, the passengers complained of suffocation. RPF personnel used an iron rod to wrench open some space between the lift’s door for air to pass. They tried to keep the passengers calm, assuring them that technicians were working hard to open the doors,” RPF Ratlam officer in-charge MR Ansari said.
Senior officers from railways and police also went to the spot. Ratlam station manager Vijay Singh Sisodia said that technicians used an emergency key to open the doors and the passengers were rescued safely in about half an hour.
“Overloading caused the incident. The lift can carry 20 people and a maximum of 1,380kg but 23 people entered the lift, along with their luggage, in a hurry, which led to the problem,” he said.
