NEW DELHI, July 15: A casual visit to the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram for a nagging back pain on Saturday turned out to be a nightmarish experience for the 59-year-old Ravindran Nair.
He was stuck in a lift for nearly two days, sans food, water, power or any other facility and worried if anyone outside the world would realise ever that he was inside.
“It was like seeing death in front of you. You just start remembering your family, your parents. I cried bitterly thinking of them,” Nair, an employee in an office attached to the Kerala Legislative Assembly Official Quarters in Thiruvananthapuram said. However, even while crying bitterly and thinking of his family, Nair says he kept hope alive, telling himself that he “would get through this.”
Ulloor resident Ravindran Nair was stuck inside the lift of the OP Block. “He (Nair) got into the lift to go to the first floor but claims that the lift came down and did not open. He says he shouted for help, but no one came. His phone was also switched off,” police said.
State Health Minister Veena George has ordered a probe into the incident and sought a report in this regard. The health department has also suspended three staff members — two lift operators and a duty sergeant — in connection with the incident.
The officials said that the incident came to light on Monday morning, when the lift operator came for routine work. Nair has been admitted to the hospital for a detailed medical examination.
Giving first-hand information about the unsavoury incident, Mr Nair said he had taken the lift around Saturday noon, as he was not confident of taking the staircase for his appointment with the doctor. Like any other visitor, he got into the lift to go to the orthopaedic department. “Suddenly, the lift crashed to the ground. My phone broke with the impact. I just braced to save myself. Soon minutes turned to hours. I did not know if it was day or night, but I kept ringing the emergency bell every few minutes. It was dark inside. Somehow, I found a small gap from which I was getting air to keep me alive,” he recalled.
“In those 42 hours, I just kept hoping that at some point people would realise that the lift was not working, come to repair it, see me inside and rescue me,” said Nair, who is undergoing treatment at the same government hospital, where he was trapped. After the incident, the hospital authorities have now claimed that it was out of order, but Nair’s family countered it, saying there was no board indicating it was unusable.
His son, Hari Shankar, was livid as he spoke of the nightmare his father had to endure. Nair used to often stay late because of official work. Not having heard from Nair until late Saturday night, his family filed a missing person’s complaint with the police. “It is a massive lapse on the part of the hospital administration. My father is alive because of his good karma. It was pure luck and God’s grace that led to it. What use was the bell inside the lift if it is not to call out for an emergency? Nobody cared whether the lift was working or not. It is a hospital with such high footfall. Should the administration not check if their lifts are working regularly as patients use them,” Shankar asked.
Shankar said around 6 am on Monday, a hospital employee checking the lifts decided to check the one that Nair was trapped in. “He had a feeling that something was wrong. With no water, food and isolated in the dark, he even defecated inside the lift. It is traumatic to even think of what my father had to go through,” said the son. “Later, after some time, I lost track of time inside the lift. This morning, an operator came, and I pressed the alarm. We both forcefully opened the door from both sides, and I jumped out of it,” Nair said.
There were no CCTV cameras in the lift area, and none of the lift operators were on duty over the weekend, alleged Shankar. Nair said that once he recovers, he is ready to go back to work and lead a normal life. The incident may have scarred him, but it has made him even more determined to face life head-on, he said.
As his phone was not reachable, family members approached the medical college police station on Sunday evening and lodged a complaint. However, the medical college officials maintained that the lift was not a regularly used one.
(Manas Dasgupta)
