11 women, 3 children survive lift fall from sixth floor

Ras Al Khaimah: A group of 11 women and three children had a miraculous escape when a lift fell six floors in a building in Ras Al Khaimah, police said on Monday.

The incident took place on Sunday at around 7pm, the police said.

Fourteen people — eleven women and three children — were inside the lift when it fell.

An official at the Ras Al Khaimah Civil Defence said five women, all from Comoros Island and aged between 30 to 40, were injured, and they were released from hospital the same night.

“The cable of the lift snapped and it plummeted from the sixth level to the basement of a 22-storey commercial-residential building in Al Nakheelat area in the emirate. The sixth level included three car parking and three residential floors,” the officer said.

The group was visiting relatives who stayed in the building.

Rescue teams as well as residents of the building pulled out the women and children from the elevator and all of them were in a state of panic. Some were unconscious.

The five women who suffered minor injuries were been taken to Saqr Hospital where they were treated and discharged the same night.

The officer said the elevator fell due to overloading as the maximum allowed weight in the lift is 800kg and the number of people allowed to use the elevator at one time is 12.

The police have launched an investigation to determine the cause behind the elevator plummeting.