Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Tim Hanlon

Woman falls to her death after forcing open lift doors and stumbling into shaft

Footage shows the last moments of a woman who plunged to her death down a lift shaft after forcing open the doors.

Aisiah Sinta Dewi, 38, took the lift to the second floor while she was on her way to meet her niece at the check-in area of Kualanamu Airport in Medan, Indonesia, on April 24.

CCTV footage shows Aisiah calmly walking into the double-sided cabin before looking at her phone. She then appeared to be confused when the lift stopped with the doors facing her still closed.

She was unaware that the set of doors behind her had opened and began frantically pushing the emergency buttons while trying to prise open the closed doors.

Aisiah reportedly called her niece to tell her she was trapped as she pushed against the closed doors, which opened and she plunged down the gap into the lift shaft.

Aisiah Sinta Dewi fell to her death in a lift shaft (ViralPress)

Aisiah's frantic family asked airport staff to search for her after losing contact but they could not find her in the airport terminal. She was only found three days later from the smell that emerged from the area near the elevator and staff were called to investigate.

Her body was discovered trapped at the bottom of the shaft and was recovered after a five-hour operation. Her remains were sent to the Medan Bhayangkara Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Dedi Al Subur, the airport's head of corporate communications, reportedly blamed the accident on a lift malfunction, claiming the Aisiah had tried to prise the doors open.

Aisiah was on her way to meet her niece at the check-in area of Kualanamu Airport (ViralPress)
Her body was found three days later at the bottom of the lift shaft at the airport (ViralPress)

The victim's brother, Raja Hasibuan, said there was "poor elevator security" and did not believe his sister was at fault.

He said: "We asked for the video from the elevator because it was there that we lost contact with her.

"This is an international-level airport. How are safety standards like this? And the response from the staff was very, very unsatisfactory."

Deli Serdang police said they are awaiting the results of the forensic examination and have started interviewing witnesses.

The North Sumatra Ombudsman office has reportedly criticised airport authorities for alleged neglect and the airport's allegedly slow response to her family's plea for help.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.