6 people trapped in 'overloaded' Jurong West lift with dead body of relative for 50 minutes

SINGAPORE — While carrying a body of a deceased relative to a wake on the first floor, six people were stuck in a lift at Jurong West for 50 minutes on Tuesday (Oct 4), until lift technicians and personnel from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were able to rescue them.

In response to media queries on Thursday, SCDF said that it received a call for assistance at Block 760 Jurong West Street 74, a Housing and Development Board block, at around 2.05pm on Tuesday.

SCDF said lift technicians were already at the scene and working to release the lift doors when its personnel arrived.

A Facebook post on Wednesday that described the ordeal later circulated online, garnering 1,600 shares and 130 comments as of 2pm on Thursday.

The post by user Keine Brutalitat said friends and relatives of those trapped in the lift forced the lift doors open with an umbrella to create a gap for ventilation.

"Two people were seen fanning at the gap to cool the air inside the lift," the user added.

Photos of the incident showed a group of eight people carrying what appears to be a deceased person towards a lift. Another image showed an umbrella lodged between the lift doors.

Comments on the Facebook post claimed that the lifts of the block had been facing issues for some time, with several netizens calling on the town council to address the matter.

Subsequent photos showed SCDF personnel attempting to pry open the lift doors.

SCDF said its personnel remained in contact with the six people throughout the ordeal and assessed that there was no immediate medical emergency.

Hydraulic equipment was also used to create a small gap between the lift doors to improve ventilation, SCDF added.

The lift doors were eventually opened by the lift technicians at around 2.45pm.

A person was assessed for minor injuries due to breathing difficulties, said SCDF, adding that the person subsequently declined to be taken to the hospital.

LIFT OVERLOADED

Responding to TODAY's queries, West Coast Town Council said its lift technicians had conducted a detailed inspection of the lift following the incident and that it was back in operation on the same day.

“We would like to apologise to the family for the unpleasant experience,” said the town council.

Its preliminary findings had shown that the lift was overloaded when six adults were transporting a deceased family member down to the first level for the wake.

This exceeded the lift's capacity limit of 545kg, which resulted in the lift overshooting its landing at the ground level.

Because of this, a safety mechanism was triggered due to a difference in the levelling of the lift and its landing. The mechanism also kept the lift doors shut.

“The lift rescue team was activated immediately to release the passengers. During this period, the lift’s lights and fans were functioning normally,” said the town council.

The town council added that monthly servicing is conducted for all lifts in its area and that recent servicing on Sept 26 had certified the lift is in working condition and fit for use.

“Based on the lift telemonitoring system records, there is no fault detected on this lift in the past three months,” it said.

As part of the estate improvements where older lifts are progressively replaced with newer ones, the lift at Block 760 is scheduled for replacement in second quarter of 2023, the town council added.