This is a list of
elevator
An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
accidents by death toll. It does not include accidents involving
gondola lift
A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...
s,
ski lift
A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald.
Types
* Aerial l ...
s or similar types of
cable transport
Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by drive ...
.
List
Other notable accidents
* On 14 December 1883, in one of the earliest documented elevator accidents, a 15-year-old boy was decapitated by an elevator at a furniture warehouse in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.
* On 20 May 1905, three elevator accidents occurred in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
within the span of a few hours, killing two men and one woman.
* On 28 July 1945, a U.S. Army plane
crashed
"Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...
into the
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, causing an elevator to fall 75 stories (more than 300 meters or 1,000 feet). Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was injured but survived. It remains the
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for the longest fall survived in an elevator.
* On 20 June 1973, former Australian member of parliament
Dugald Munro was crushed to death in an elevator accident, aged 43. He was trapped between the lift cage and door in a building in
Bridge Street, Sydney
Bridge Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Bridge Street runs for in a west–east direction with traffic flowing in both directions. It is situated in the northern portion of the centra ...
, and was unable to be freed.
* On May 14, 1986, WJJS news radio reporter Ron Lee Alexander was one of seven people who jumped off an elevator in the Allied Arts Building in Lynchburg, Virginia, after it stopped between the 5th and 6th floors. About 300 pounds, he was the last to jump. When he did, the car shot upward and he fatally stumbled backward into the shaft.
* On January 7, 1995, a man was decapitated by a malfunctioning elevator in New York City.
* In October 1999, a brief
power dip caused an elevator to stop between the 13th and 14th floors at the
McGraw-Hill Building in New York City, trapping Nicholas White, an employee of the building who was going down to take a cigarette break. Despite activating an alarm and the presence of a surveillance camera, nearly 41 hours passed before he was noticed and rescued. Years later, the surveillance video was made public.
*On August 16 2003, Dr. Hitoshi Nikaidoh, a surgical resident at a Texas hospital, became trapped between the doors of a hospital elevator when faulty wiring caused them to suddenly close. When the elevator rose, Nikaidoh's head was severed above the jaw.
* On May 24, 2003, a woman was beheaded in an accident with a cargo lift that occurred at a supermarket in Nerja, Malaga, Spain. The victim, a worker for a company in charge of cleaning the establishment, put the car with her tools in the cargolift and went to an upper floor to collect it by inserting her head into the elevator shaft, at the time of the accident. The Local Police tried to locate a client of foreign nationality who allegedly witnessed the accident and left the establishment, prey to an anxiety attack.
* On November 8, 2009,
Jerry Fuchs
Gerhardt "Jerry" Fuchs (December 31, 1974 – November 8, 2009) was an American indie rock drummer, writer and graphic artist. Fuchs was a member of the bands Turing Machine, The Juan MacLean, !!! and Maserati and performed drums live with the ...
was caught in a broken elevator in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. When assistance arrived and the doors were pried open, he attempted to jump out of the elevator car. Upon landing, his hood caught on something, pulling him off balance, and he accidentally fell to his death down the elevator shaft.
* In December 2011, an elevator in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
suddenly ascended while Suzanne Hart, a director for an advertising agency, was boarding. She was crushed to death almost instantly. Investigations later revealed that the elevator was undergoing maintenance and was switched back to "automatic" mode while a jumper cable bypassed the safety circuits, resulting in the elevator ascending with the doors open.
* In April 2013, an elevator broke down at Hotel Eden in
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein (; formerly ''Badgastein''; Southern Bavarian: ''Bod Goschdei'') is a spa town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau District, St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Picturesquely situated in a hig ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, trapping the owner inside. He was rescued after four days.
* On 15 May 2013, a 24-year-old nurse was decapitated by an elevator at a hospital in
Shenzhen, China
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...
. As she tried to exit the elevator on the third floor, it suddenly plunged down to the building's basement and caught her between the doors. Eleven other people were trapped inside and tried to free the woman, but it was too late. They were all rescued shortly after the gruesome incident.
* On August 3, 2013, Bob Reuter, a musician and host of the KDHX (88.1 FM) weekly radio program “Bob’s Scratchy Records,” died after falling down an elevator shaft while moving into a downtown loft. Police said he opened the door to the elevator, which is nearly 100 years old, and stepped into the shaft, falling an estimated 18 feet to his death.
* On 7 June 2014, 31-year-old José Vergara Acevedo was seriously injured at an apartment building in
Providencia, Chile
Providencia (, Spanish: "providence") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Part of Greater Santiago, it is bordered by the communes of Santiago to the west, Recoleta to the northwest, Las Condes an ...
, when an elevator he was riding soared up 31 floors in 15 seconds before crashing into the building's roof.
*On 14 September 2014, a malfunctioning elevator in
Xiamen, China
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six District of the People's Republic of China, ...
ascended while a Huaqiao University student was getting inside, pinning him between the floor of the elevator and the top of its door frame. When Chinese authorities were able to remove him nearly half an hour later, he was pronounced dead, apparently having suffocated due to the force of the elevator against his body.
* On December 31, 2015, Stephen Hewett-Brown, an aspiring musician, pushed a woman out of a New York apartment building elevator as it slipped and pinned him between the ceiling of the car and the building’s third floor. He later died from his injuries.
* On 1 March 2016, a 43-year-old woman was found starved to death inside an elevator at an apartment building in the Chinese city of
Xi’an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqin ...
. She was overlooked when maintenance men examined the broken elevator and cut off the power to it. When they returned more than a month later, the woman's body was found. The incident sparked outrage over the apparent negligence of the men, who were charged with involuntary manslaughter. At least one of them was detained.
* On 17 March 2017, an elevator plunged 4 floors (5th floor to
basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...
floor) at Blok M Square in Jakarta after the cable snapped. Due to the incident, 25 people were injured.
* On 16 November 2018, an elevator plunged 84 floors (95th floor to 11th floor) at the 100-story
John Hancock Center
The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018.
The skyscraper was designed ...
in Chicago after two of the cables holding the lift snapped, but no one was injured or killed.
* On 22 August 2019, 30-year-old Samuel Waisbren was crushed to death at an apartment building in New York City when the elevator which he was trying to exit suddenly descended. Five other people were trapped in the elevator and were later rescued by firefighters. One man had exited the elevator just before it gave way.
* On 14 September 2020, 38-year-old Boston University lecturer Carrie O'Connor was crushed to death at an apartment building in Boston when the elevator suddenly descended, trapping her in the doorway.
See also
*
2006 Minato Ward elevator accident
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Accidents And Disasters By Death Toll
Lists of disasters
Lists by death toll
Elevator accidents
Elevator
An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...