A distressing incident unfolded in the Sangvi area of Pune when seven individuals became trapped inside a building’s elevator, triggering a wave of panic throughout the premises. The event took place at Shankar Plaza, a residential and commercial building located near the city’s busy Krishna Chowk.
According to preliminary reports, the crisis occurred as more people than the elevator’s rated capacity stepped inside at once. This overload led to a sudden technical failure, causing the lift to stall abruptly between floors and leaving the occupants confined in a cramped, suffocating space for an extended period.
As the realisation of being trapped set in, the seven people began to experience severe anxiety and called out for assistance. Residents of the building heard their pleas and immediately alerted the local administration and the fire brigade. Responding with urgency, a rescue team from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s fire department arrived at the scene to find a tense atmosphere, with worried family members and local citizens gathered in large numbers.
The firefighters first conducted a swift assessment of the elevator’s mechanical state before launching a delicate and high-stakes rescue operation. After nearly three hours of gruelling effort and precision work, the team successfully pried open the doors and safely evacuated all seven people. Fortunately, no injuries or loss of life were reported, though the occupants were visibly shaken by the ordeal.
Authorities have since launched a technical investigation into the lift’s maintenance and safety mechanisms, confirming that overcrowding was the primary trigger for the malfunction. In the wake of the incident, the administration has issued a public advisory urging citizens to strictly adhere to weight limits and capacity instructions while using elevators to prevent such life-threatening malfunctions in the future. The timely intervention by the fire department has been widely praised for preventing what could have been a major tragedy.
– Ends
Inputs from Shrikrushna Jagannath Panchal
