TRAPPED RESIDENTS PRIED OPEN LIFT DOORS DURING BREAKDOWN

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Residents who were trapped in a lift at a Geylang Bahru block managed to pry open the lift doors. According to a resident, Mr Liang who was quoted in news reports as a 38 year old resident, he was waiting for the lift at Block 95 around 5pm, when the lift breakdown occurred.

There were three people trapped in the lift for about half an hour. When the lift arrived on the ground floor, the door managed only a small opening before it malfunctioned and became stuck. Mr Liang then decided to force it open with the help of one of the residents inside the lift. They managed to create an opening large enough for the trapped passengers to escape through after about five minutes of prying the doors open.

The Jalan Besar Town Council said that they received the reports of a lift breakdown only at 7:04pm on that day. The rescue team arrived about 20 minutes later, and found the lift doors slanted but no one trapped inside. The breakdown was caused by a misalignment of the lift doors, said the spokesman for the town council. The spokesman also advised that in any cases of lift breakdowns, those trapped should call for help immediately and remain patient for the rescue team to come. Forcing open the doors may aggravate the lift problem, and potentially cause injuries.

Akmal Hashim

A.S.S. Contributor